On Broken Roads
by River Nightrunner
Summary: Rachel leaned back against Claws, hand behind her head, the picture of relaxed. The big ghoul glared at her, she made him insane, it rubbed off onto him every time she made a new decision. "You're fucking crazy, you know that? Batshit fucking insane," Rachel grinned. "I know, but I'm okay with it." OC/Charon NewVegas/F3 Crossover, Might change rating to M later. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

On Broken Roads

**Chapter 1**

The unrelenting sun beat down on the back of a red headed woman crouched on the road. She looked down at the body of the raider she'd just killed and shook her head. He might have been a handsome once, had the potential to be a good man, of course that was years of alcohol and chem abuse ago.

Rachel rummaged through the man's pockets, and grimaced again. The man was filthy, and while living in a waste land got a person used to dirt Raiders were a special kind of dirty. She tried not to think about what was likely clinging to every fiber of the man's clothing as she pulled out a few .308 rounds, some Jet and a syringe of Med-X.

She pulled a knife from his boot but after a good look at it she tossed it aside, it was so rusted and chipped that it wasn't even worth trying to scrap it. She did find three grimy caps in the same boot and swiftly pocketed them.

Rachel stood, and placed her sunglasses back down onto her nose before hefting her pack up onto the shoulder not occupied by her sniper rifle. She looked up the road, it seemed deserted but so had it seemed before the raider attacked.

It struck her as odd the he had been alone, like the wild dogs that roamed the area, raiders hunted in packs. Rachel moved off to the side of the road, not wanting to be seen before she knew what it was that was seeing her. These where dangerous roads and being carless she knew would only get her killed.

She wanted a relatively secure bed to sleep in tonight and to unload the scrap she had managed to scavenge on her travels throughout the western wasteland. Thankfully when she reached the crest in the hill she was on she saw the dinosaur tower in the distance. The T-Rex looking out over the wasteland protected the settlement of Novac. Rachel had been there a few times before and it was a pleasant little town, safe with the snipers nested in the mouth of the T-Rex statue.

It took two hours to get to the gate and with the sun setting over the horizon she was happy to find the gate open still. Soon it would be closed and lock for the night.

She entered the motel office and met the smile of the friendly woman who ran the rental rooms.

"Rachel, dear, it's good to see you," She told her kindly. To be honest, the woman always seemed a little too kind for the rough existence mankind had suffered since the Great War, but then again maybe it was her own harsh life style that made her think the way she did.

"It's good to see you too ma'am, can I get a room for the night?" Rachel asked and the woman nodded.

"Of course, your usual room is available, here's the key dear," She said, sliding a battered key across the counter as Rachel counted out her caps.

She went up the steps and entered her room; it was oddly familiar. She set her pack down on her bed along with her rifle, then plopped herself down on the bed and stripped off her boots.

She locked the front door and then headed for the bathroom. She turned the taps and was pleased to find the water running. It was cold but after a week in the dessert that was just fine. Rachel stripped off her clothes, leaving them in the sink and stepped into the now full tub.

Using her hands and a scrap of cloth she used for cleaning she scrubbed off a weeks' worth of dust, sweat and blood. When she was done she used a threadbare towel to dry herself and she drained the tub. When the dirty water was gone she filled it back up and dumped her clothes into the new water.

While that soaked she pulled on a faded pair of pants and a simple tank top. Then she sat on the bed and went to work on her armor. Working oil into the leather and polishing the metal, making sure it was in working order.

When she got her armor in the best condition she could she moved on to her weapons, cleaning both her rifle and her 9mm pistol. She sharpened her knife last, sighing. The last thing she did before crawling into bed was take her clothes from the tub, rinse them under the tap and hang them around the room to dry.

It was black when Rachel opened her eyes but she wasn't surprised, she always woke two or three hours before dawn. She never seemed to sleep more than absolutely necessary to keep her functional.

Stretching she got up, and pulled on the pants she'd dropped on the floor the night before. She rinsed her mouth out with a swig of purified water and swallowed it. Rachel pulled on her boots and opened her pack, digging in it until she found what she wanted. It was a gift wrapped in a rag to protect it on the road to Novac. She held it in the crook of her arm and grabbed her rifle of her way out the door, knowing where she'd find her friend.

The first time she'd stayed in Novac she'd climbed the tower to get a better look down the road she'd be traveling in the morning. The man standing watch had told her about a few trouble spots and they somehow ended up associates.

Now she climbed the stairs on her way up the dinosaur's mouth, and grinned as she pushed through the metal door.

"Guess what?" she said as the man turned to look at who had entered his nest, "I'm not dead yet,"

"Well look what the Mole Rat drug in, how are you kid," He asked, setting his rifle down and standing to give her a warm hug.

"It's good to see you Boone," she told him softly, hugging him back quickly.

He stepped away and looked at her sympathetically, taking his seat and gesturing foe her to take the other one, "Been a long road?" he asked and she nodded.

"It's getting worse Boone, the Legion. I pasted through whole town, ones I used to stop and trade in, but the where just gone. Ashes, and if there where survivors they were too wounded for me to help. I- I put a bullet in more than one person nailed to a cross." She told him glaring out at the waste as she fought to hold in tears.

Boone put a hand on her should, "You did the right thing, and if _you_ couldn't help them then I'm not sure many others out there could either,"

She nodded but didn't say anything; she knew more than the average person about healing but the image of those people would haunt her nightmares for a longtime.

"Rachel," He started but she shook her head, changing the subject.

"I brought Carla a present," she told him, forcing her voice to be bright as she handed over her package.

Boone unwrapped the cloth and grinned, looking down at the bottle of wine in his hands "Is this really from the Ultra Lux?"

"You know it, I could come away from The Strip without a little piece of your lovely wife," She told him and he laughed.

Rachel knew Carla wasn't well liked in Novac, people thought she was a snob, but that wasn't true. She had just grown up on the strip, and while she loved Boone and understood that as a sniper he was one of Novac's best defenses, she still missed her home.

"She'll love it, you know, I'm thinking about moving there. Manny can guard the town and train others to do it too. They don't really need me. And the safety would be nice," He told her, and there was something in his voice that made her look at him.

"You used to think that you were the only thing keeping this place alive. Why the change of heart?" She asked suspiciously,

He shrugged, but his mouth broke into a ridiculous grin as he said, "Things change, a boy grows into a man and starts thinking about the future,"

He was doing this on purpose, "Craig Boone what are you hiding?" She demanded, although she was starting to get the feeling that she knew.

"Carla would want our kids to grow up somewhere safe," he said, looking at Rachel out of the corner of his eye as he stared out into the waste.

Rachel gasped, hand over her mouth. "Carla is pregnant!"

His grin got even goofier if that was possible. "Yeah, I think I made the decision to move the second we knew for sure, and I'm glad you blew into town, because I wanted to ask you if you wanted to travel with us. I'm asking Manny too, but somebody should stay to watch over things and he and Carla don't exactly get along."

"I would be honored, when do you want to leave?" She asked him,

"At the end of the week if you can stand sticking around for that long," he told her.

"Four days? I guess but you're lucky I like you guys," she told him on a dramatic exhale.

Alright, while I have been a long time user of both fanfiction and fictionpress I only have work on the other one. So this is my very first stab at a fanfiction, Let me know how I'm doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The rest of the watch went smoothly, Rachel and Boone took down a small group of raiders that were getting a little too curious of comfort and they talked about Boone's future offspring. Every time he said the word "_baby"_ he grinned like an idiot, and it was plain he wanted a better life for them.

An hour or so after dawn the metal door opened and Manny entered the nest with his own rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Rachel's in town. How's the Waste kid?"

"Hot, dry, and full of things that want to eat me," She told him with a grin,

"Well I'm glad you're uneaten," He told her as he and Boone traded places, Rachel got up too. She wanted to go congratulate Carla.

Rachel fallowed Boone down the stairs and a cross the dirt to his bungalow. He opened the door and she followed him into the quiet house.

"She must still be asleep," He told Rachel in a hushed tone, moving toward the bedroom. Rachel waited politely by the door, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

"Carla, Guess who blew into town," he called as he disappeared into the other room. Rachel waited for a heartbeat of silence and then Boone's voice called louder, "Carla?"

He came out of the bedroom and crossed to the bathroom, knocking on the door. "Carla? Are you in there babe?"

After a moment of quiet he opened the door. Empty.

He was frowning, Rachel was to. It wasn't like Carla to not be home in the morning. She liked to be there when Boone got home.

"Maybe she went to office for supplies?" Rachel suggested though it seemed unlikely.

Boone nodded and was out the door with Rachel on his heels in seconds. They jogged across the dirt and burst into the room.

Jenny looked up started,

"What-" she started but Boone cut her off sharply,

"Have you seen Carla?"

"What, no dear, why? Is she missing?" Jenny asked, Boone's mouth pressed into a hard line and he turned around, leaving as quickly as he'd come. Rachel looked at Jenny as she followed him and she frowned, she could have sworn she just saw something like triumph in the woman's eyes. She shook her head, no Jenny was a sweet woman and it was panic that was making her mind suspicious. It came from too much time in old ruins where everything was a potential threat. Rachel balled her hands into fists and beat the panic in her chest down, calling to Boone that she was going to recheck the tower.

She took the stairs two at a time, and yanked the door open.

Manny spun, so startled he had to catch the cigarette that fell from his mouth mid drag.

"Carla's missing," Rachel blurted out.

"What?" Manny asked, this time his cigarette fell to the floor and was left forgotten. They starred at each other for half a heartbeat before they both bolted down the stairs.

They found Boone crouched outside the bedroom window, inspecting the ground. Like any good NCR solider he's swept the perimeter of his home in his search for his wife.

"Craig?" Manny asked, as they approached.

"She was taken, there are tracks here. There were three, no four of them. And I found this," he held up a scrap of red cloth, "It was Legionnaires,"

Rachel turned pale under her tan. "Manny, better start knocking on doors, see who else is missing." She said, "I've come across their work before and if they didn't burn this place to the ground then it was a slave party,"

Manny nodded and left to do what she'd suggested. Rachel crouched next to her friend, feeling the anger radiate off him in waves.

"This is my fault," He growled, hands shaking. "How did I miss them?"

Rachel moved, tracking the slavers foot prints in the dirt to where they'd entered the town.

"It's not. They came in right here," She told him pointing, "In a weak place in the fence, there's no way you would have spotted them," Rachel told him firmly, but she frowned to herself. Something didn't feel right about this whole thing. Could it have been just luck that they found a way in so easily? People milled around at all hours of the night. For a legion party to get in and out without being seen at all, it just seemed a little too impossible.

Boone stood abruptly, disappearing around the corner, but Rachel heard his front door slam shut behind him. She had a feeling she knew what he was doing and set her jaw, sprinting back up to her own room.

She grab her now dry clothes, stuffing them into her pack roughly along with everything else she'd taken out in the few hours she'd been there. She took the time to unload the salvage she'd been meaning to sell, not wanting the extra weight and strapped on her armor.

She and Boone where going for a walk.

The last thing she did before leaving the room was load all her weapons. She was glad she'd taken the time to clean and repair them the night before. Pack slung over her shoulder she left just in time to see Boone exit his house. He was armored up and looked ready for a long expedition into the Waste.

"Boone!" She called but he didn't seem to hear her. She jogged across the dirt to his side. "Boone, I'm coming with you."

"It's too dangerous," He growled, looking down at her.

"The hell it is." She growled back, "You and Carla are the closest thing to family that I have. I am coming with you even if I have to track you through the Wasteland."

He looked at the fire in her eyes and nodded. "Fine,"

"Manny," she yelled, seeing the other man come out of a hotel room. "Who else are we looking for?"

The other sniper put his hand on the back of his neck and looked uncomfortable. "Nobody, Carla is the only one missing,"

Both Rachel and Boone stiffened, then the big man nodded and together he and Rachel walked out of the gates of Novac. With one eye on the horizon and one on the trail the slavers left behind they walked.

The tail was nothing but indents in the loose orange tinted dirt that made up the Mojave, but to trackers as experienced as the two on the trail it was like a freshly paved road.

The slavers weren't doing anything to try and hide their trail, maybe they thought nobody would have the ball to go after them. Maybe they didn't think anyone was good enough to pose much of a threat. She would make sure they knew the error of their ways.

It was late afternoon when they came to a halt, looking out over the ancient abandoned airport. Rachel had heard rumors of a Legion base not far from here.

"Boone, I heard talk of Cottonwood Cove being a Legion base, it looks like they headed in that direction. Think we should take to high ground?"

It was formed as a question but she put some authority behind it. She wasn't so confident in their skills to think they could walk into a camp as big as Cottonwood was supposed to be and walk back out alive.

Boone nodded, eyeing the giant radscorpion sunning itself on the tarmac just inside the chain link fence. It didn't seem very interested in the humans.

They started down the cracked road leading to Cottonwood, and as they came closer they could hear people off in the distance.

Boone halted, using a hand signal to tell Rachel to move into the rocks, the big hills dropped off sharply on the side facing the cove and it would give them a good vantage point.

Together they climbed, carefully moving over the boulders and watching for any predators. Boone moved ahead, looking over the rocks and then stepped left, he'd found a plateau on a ledge overlooking the cove.

Rachel crouched and moved to the edge, looking down with a gasp. There were hundreds of them swarming like ants all over the timeworn vacation spot, and it looked like more where coming in from the river. She could see the boats in the distance coming towards them.

She looked at Boone, he was stony. He dropped his pack on the hard packed dirt and drug into it. "We make camp here,"

Rachel nodded and moved to her own pack. They set up camp quickly as the sun began to sink, a very small fire set back away from the ledge. There bedrolls laid out and a small lean-to set up on the edge and low to the ground. It was too help camouflage them as they looked down into the camp with their rifles.

Rachel lay on her stomach, staring down into the camp. It was fully dark now and the men down below where having a great time. Watching them made her feel sick.

Her mind kept going over and over how they could possibly get those enslaved people out. Carla had been the only one taken from Novac but she'd seen a lot of other people with slave collars on down there.

"They're going to sell her," Boone said quietly next to her. Rachel jumped; to this day he was the only one who could sneak up on her. It was the first thing he'd said in hours and the truth in it broke her heart.

"I know," she whispered, "This is one of the biggest slave auctions I've ever even heard of, there's got to be thousands of soldiers down there,"

Rachel looked over at her longtime friend, he looked like hell, "Go get some sleep Boone, I'll take the first watch,"

He looked like he wanted to argue but she shook her head, "I got a solid night's sleep last night. You didn't. Go."

He finally went, after Rachel promised to wake him up in three hours for his own watch. Rachel hated lying to him but if it meant he'd at least try to sleep she'd deal with it. There was no way she was letting take any watches tonight, he needed the rest. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and she had this terrible feeling that it wasn't going to end well.

**Thank you so much to I'mWelsh and Jake111. Your reviews gave me that little boost of confidence to want to continue. I also apologize for any and all errors in my writing. I reread it and edited what a saw but those error are sneaky little bastards .**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rachel sat with her back to their camp, looking down at Cotton Wood. More legionaries had arrived in the night, each new boat adding both soldiers and slaves to the already impressive numbers below.

She heard Boone stir behind her as a faint glow lit the horizon; dawn was less than an hour away. The big man growled as he sat up, Rachel didn't turn to look at him, feeling guilty about not waking him up.

"Rachel," he started, in a dead tone that was getting all too familiar.

"Tough, you should have known I had no intention of doing the night watch in shifts," She told him, still staring at the landscape below.

She heard him exhale; it was a sigh somewhere between gratitude and annoyance. Rachel just set her jaw; she would not apologize or try to give an excuse.

She shifted and pulled her limbs in closer to her body, the night had been cold and because of the position over the camp they had not risked keeping the fire glowing past dusk.

The girl heard Boones heavy boot come up behind her, and he lay down next to her, cigarette between his lip and sunglasses on even in the early morning light.

"Here," he growled softly, thrusting a flask in her direction. She took it and unscrewed the cap, sniffing the contents, Whiskey.

Rachel gladly took a swig, letting the liquid burn in her mouth and down her throat. She took another swig and then handed it back. She didn't want her judgment to be imparred, just the ice to melt from some of her veins.

"Report," he commanded in the same tone, it looked like he was reducing to one word voicing's this morning. That was fine with her, the anger and pain in his voice was hard on her own heart.

"The enemy increased in numbers throughout the night. Eight more boats arrived, each carrying both men and slaves. This is a gathering, it my belief that today they are going to start selling the slaves." Rachel paused, not sure she wanted to share her calculations with him. Sure he didn't want to hear it, but then committing to giving him the full report she had. "Chances of our success, let alone our survival are currently in the single percentile,"

Boone just nodded, he seemed to have come to the same conclusion, or maybe he was simply accepting what she'd come up with as the most plausible reality.

Rachel moved away from the edge and went to her pack, taking out a bottle of purified water. She wet her mouth and put the water back, deep in thought.

She looked at the man lay six feet away and clenched her fist. Way did the world have to be so crule.

Rachel got the fire going as dim light washed over the wasteland and fog rolled off the damp ground. She used the rest of her morning water bottle making coffee. And when it was done she brought a cup to Boone as she rejoined him at the edge of the Cliffside camp.

He took it without a word.

People had started moving around below them and Rachel new in just a little wait they would begin their sick action. Soon she and Boone would have to act.

She had no drought that today they were both going to die but she didn't care. Or at lease she wasn't scared. If she was going to die then this seemed like a pretty good way to go. Fighting next to her best friend, trying to save someone they both cared about, and taking as many legion bastards with them as possible.

Rachel sipped at the dark liquid in her cup, looking threw her scoop. People were starting to gather around a raised platform to the left of the complex. She dragged her pack closer and pulled out her two back-up clips of her rifle. She made sure they were all fully loaded, planning to simply eject the empty clips and insert the new ones.

Boone was doing the same.

"Rachel," She looked over at him, "It not too late. If you walked away now, I wouldn't hold it against you,"

He was giving her an out, and in the moment she knew that Boone was sure they were going to die today too. She could leave now and survive to see another sunrise.

"I would;" she told him firmly, "I'm with you Boone. So what's the plan?" She asked, and that was is, she was committed.

"We'll be dead before we do any good if we try to storm their base. There's too many of them for that. He told her, all business now. Rachel nodded and he continued, "We wait until we see Carla, then we fire on the people closest to her. She'll have the sense to run when she gets the chance. We see what direction she takes and you follow her while I cause a distraction. Take her back to Novac and I'll meet you there."

Boone's face was hard and Rachel swallowed. She knew the he had no real faith that he was going to get back to Novac. He was telling her to take Carla and leave without him.

"Boone-" She started but he shook his head.

"Promise," he said,

Finally she nodded, "Fine, but if your ass isn't back by dusk I'm coming to look for you,"

Boone nodded and they turned their attention back to the ground below.

It was only a short hour later when the sound of a horn blasted through the air. Rachel jumped when the sound assaulted her. She looked threw her scoop, searching for the source. She found the offending instrument in the hands of a man standing on the platform.

The result was like flies swarming around a three day old Brahmin corpse. Men poured out of buildings and off boats. Hundreds maybe even thousands of legionnaire troops all converging around the platform.

An important looking man stood for a couple minutes, giving a speech that she and Boone were too far away to hear. He stepped back and the auction began. They watched in silence as a young woman was dragged on the stage.

It wasn't Carla, and when the girl started to sob she was rewarded by a hard slap across her face. She was sold, and her new owner dragged her away. That's how it went, each person sold making Rachel feel sicker.

Some of the newly sold slaves were brought to various building around Cottonwood but many of them were brought to the boats. That was troubling. If they managed to get Carla on one of the boat there was a good chance Rachel and Boone would never find her, the network of rivers making an easy escape route.

Finally a familiar body was led on stage. Carla had a black eye and her dress was dirty, one side had a rip in the skirt. Rachel felt Boone stiffen next to her and she heard him growl.

Rachel watched as her friend was described to the men gathered, the bidding started.

"On my count, you take the right," Boone hissed, and she tightened her grip on her rifle.

Rachel put her cross hairs on the man holding Carla's arm and Boone started to count.

"Three, two…one,"

Their gunfire echoed off the stone walls surrounding Cottonwood Cove and men scrambled for cover and weapons as the soldiers on the stages dropped. Carla was frozen for a single second and the she ran, jumping from the stage and heading for the rocky mountains. Rachel was poised to run and meet her when she saw a man grab Carla's arm, yanking her back. Rachel had her gun aimed but she couldn't get a clear shot.

The legion man kept Carla between himself and the mountains, drawing the woman towards the boats. The fowl thing already had its sail unfurled and oars in the water. They were ready to leave as soon as they had who Rachel assumed was their captain.

Rachel's eyes darted around, her scoop trained on Carla but taking in everything around them. Legion men who weren't retreating were arming themselves and scurrying towards them, searching for the one who had disrupted their actuation.

"Boone, we're running out of time," she called as he reload and took another shot,

"Boone, he's dragged her on the docks!" she cried, Rachel watched as the man dragged Carla onto the boat and they cut the mooring ropes, the vessel was moving.

"Rachel," He finally answered and she almost wished he hadn't. The pain in her friend's voice was extraordinary. "You know what they'll do to her,"

Rachel did know. Rape, beatings, mutilation, torture and death were all common treatment of Legion slaves.

"Rachel, Take the shot," He barked, voice hollow.

"What!" she cried, acutely aware of the men getting closer to them.

"I don't want to be the one," He pleaded, and added, "Please, on my count,"

Rachel felt like the world was closing in on her, she'd killed people before but never a friend, not even a mercy killing. "I don't think I can,"

"On my count, if you don't then I will, I promise," He said, but he was promising to himself, or maybe to Carla but not to Rachel.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and lined up the shot, Carla's terrified face clear in her crosshairs.

"Three…Two…" Boone's voice was thick and the last number was almost too low for her to her but she did and her heart constricted painfully. Eye full of tears her took a deep breath with her finger on the trigger.

She hesitated and then a gunshot sounded. Carla Fell to the deck of the ship and it was over. Except it wasn't, she could hear the footsteps of the men looking for them.

"Boone, We-" She looked at him and swore, he was frozen, dead along with his wife.

"Boone…Craig!" She shouted, as her used her rifle to take to head off of the first man to stumble into their camp.

The gunfire seemed to wake him up but she chose not to fault him for freezing, because she sincerely wished she could curl into a ball and die right now. Unfortunately her survival instincts were too strong to allow that. She would just have to save her grief for later.

They fought off the two other men that had appeared easily and fell back.

When they had several minutes of silence the made the silent decision that they were safe for the moment and without a single word started the long walk back to Novac.

**Chapter 3 fin! Sorry I put this one off a little bit, I have a hard time being a dick to my charters. I always want them to have a happy ended in whatever their doing but life in the wasteland isn't like that offend. I really wanted to follow Boone Before he lost Carla during that time right after. I also needed Rachel to be there for later bits in the story. Reviews are always very much appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Rachel's honey colored eyes snapped open and she scowled at the dark ceiling, she didn't want to be awake. Of course she didn't want to be asleep either, she was haunted by nightmares.

It had been a week since she and Boone had trudged into town, they'd gone to their separate dwellings without a word. She tried to talk to him since then, but mostly they sat in his cigarette smoke filled kitchen drinking and muttering curses at imaginary legion soldiers.

Rachel rose, not really wanting to go back to sleep, her nightmares making it impossible to distance herself from the woman who had acted like a mother to her so many times before. Rachel knew it was worse for Boone, she'd lost a mother. Boone though, he'd lost his universe.

Rachel, having nothing better to do at this early hour pulled on her boots and left with her rifle in hand. If they were going to be miserable they might as well be so together. Manny wasn't any comfort to her friend at the moment.

Rachel would have like Boone to spend time with Manny but she also knew wasn't likely to happen. Boone had gotten it into his head that the other sniper had been somehow happy about Carla's death. They hadn't talked since the fight they had had the first day back.

Her boots left dusty footprints on the metal steps as she climbed up the dino-tower. She opened the door and slipped into the nest silently.

She took her normal seat and Boone wordlessly offered her a cigarette. She took it and used the lighter she'd found to light up. Rachel knew it was bad for her but she decided life was shot so fuck it. Boone flicked two fingers against her arm and she handed over her lighter without needing to ask him what he wanted.

"I been thinking," she said after fifteen minutes of silence.

"Hm?" he asked, he hadn't spoken anymore then absolutely necessary since they left Cottonwood.

"Well it was bugging me, they got in and out. Knew when the town would be the most dead, they only took her and they knew where the hole in the fence was. Nobody is that good, or that…lucky. I'm not. You're not. They had help." Rachel watched him as she talked and he stiffened.

"You're right, I've been thinking the same."

"What do we do? To find the bastard," she asked him.

He thought for a minute then pulled his first recon beret off his head, handing it to her.

"Here, they will be less likely to be off guard around me. When you find them bring them out front while I'm working. Use that beret as our signal. I'll do the rest."

Rachel nodded, it was the most he'd spoken in over a week but she was having a hard time being happy about it.

"Okay, I'll start looking after dawn. In the mean time I need a drink. I know where Jenny keep her good stuff," Rachel stood and he nodded, "I'll go get it,"

Rachel eased into the office and looked around for people, empty. She stayed low anyway and crept behind the main counter. She crouched next to the floor safe nestled there and pulled out her lock picks and setting to work, it was easy.

The lock gave a satisfying click and Rachel smiled, taking the two bottles of scotch that had been stashed there. She'd pay for them later she promised herself, she was about to close the safe when a scrap of paper caught her eye. Ever curious she picked it up and began to read.

As she did her heart fell into the pit of her stomach and the world exploded. It was a bill of sale. Stating that Jenny-may Crawford was selling one female: Carla Boone, and her unborn child to the Legion.

"How-?" Rachel whispered, staring at the paper. Jenny was supposed to be one of the nicest old ladies in the waste. Rachel swallowed hard and decided she was taking the Bill of Sale and the caps in the safe along with the booze.

She stuffed the note and caps into her pants pockets and the booze in her jacket. She thought for a moment and then went to knock on Jennie's door. There was no advantage to putting it off.

Jenny opened the door with a concerned expression.

"Rachel dear? What is it?"

"oh jenny you have to come see this, It right out front," Rachel said earnestly, pointing out in the direction she wanted to go and taking a few steps.

"What it is?" Jenny asked, confused.

"Hurry, it'll disappear," Rachel said, taking her hand and tugging it impatiently,

"Alright dear, in coming. Are you feeling alright?" she asked, Jenny clearly though she was on jet right now and was humoring her.

_Yeah be kind and sweet when not two weeks ago you sold my mother_. She thought as she led the woman out across the cracked pavement. Rachel reached in her pocket and pulled out Boone's first recon beret. She set her jaw and slipped it on over her red hair.

They were out past the town gates, and jenny was getting nervous.

"Rachel? Dear how far it this thing you want-" she was cut off by the sound of a gunshot, and Rachel was splattered with the older woman's blood. She looked down at the woman and saw she no longer had a head.

Her eyes shifted up to the nest and Boone was standing there. He saluted her, and she nodded before returned to him.

When she climbed the steps she sighed heavily, pulling the paper from her pocket. When she opened the door he was waiting.

"That was fast," he commented and for a split second she was sure there was an accusation in his voice.

"I didn't mean it to. Apparently Jenny kept her evidence next to her scotch," She sighed and hand over a bottle and along with the damning paper.

Boone read it quickly, and then opened the bottle angrily, downing half the contense.

"Bitch," he growled loudly.

"Do you feel better?" she asked seriously

"I thought I would, but I don't" He looked down at his bottle and took another swig. He looked out over the wasteland and slumped down in his chair. Rachel did too, and when Manny appeared in the nest at dawn they left together. Manny nodded to them and Rachel nodded back. Boone ignored him.

The scavenger and sniper went back to his house and they drank.

"You know, Boone. I never thought I would find a mother. I don't remember my own. I was found wandering around outside of Goodsprings; did I ever tell you that?"

Boone nodded, she had once.

Rachel nodded and didn't go into what she remembered about her earliest years. "Carla," she said skipping to the end of her speech. "She brushed my hair and braided it in that fancy way. And she did make-up on me once. I liked that."

Boone made a noise, and it was almost a chuckle. "Do you remember the second time you came to Novac?" he ask and she shook her head.

"Not really, I was pretty sick," She said

"Sick?" he snorted, "you had so much radiation in your body we were pretty sure your blood was going to glow in the dark, and you had an infected wound so bad I was surprised you got to keep your leg."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "You're exaggerating," accept she was keenly aware of the scar that spread across her thigh, and had a vague memory of a run-in with a deathclaw.

"I'm not. Carla insisted you stay with us, and she dressed you wounds every few hours. And she read you at night until you fell asleep," He told the girl, taking both a drag and a swig. "That's when she first started talking about wanting a baby you know,"

Rachel starred; she wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't good with heavy emotion and neither was he. So they sat awkwardly for a long time, smoking and drink in each other's presences.

Finally Rachel stood, "Boone, I-"she sighed, "tomorrow morning I think it's time for me to head out."

"Getting restless?" he asked and she could tell he understood.

"Yeah, it's time. I'm not going west though. I'm not making my normal rounds this time, I need a change of scenery. I'm going east, I hear they have this thing that purifies water and they need guards for the caravans and I'm sure I can find other work."

Boone nodded; he'd heard the same things.

"Will you come back?" he asked, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I don't know," and it was the most honest thing she could say. Because even if she ever wanted too and someday she might, these old broken roads where dangerous.

"Boone, come with me." She asked, wistfully.

"You'll be fine without me, and somebody has to protect the town," he told her, and she knew without him having to say it; he wasn't ready to leave the last place he and Carla had lived.

As Rachel opened the door to leave, Boone looked up,

"Hey, if Carla and I couldn't ever meet our child…I'm glad you were the one to fill in that spot over the last few years."

Rachel nodded and closed the door, not trusting her voice to be steady if she tried to stay anything. In the language of Craig Boone, he'd just said:_ We both Love you, You're the best daughter we could have asked for,"_

Okay, and a marching east we will go. I wonder if Rachel will like DC?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Moonlight shined threw her hotel room window as Rachel stuffed the last of her freshly maintained gear into her pack. She'd used her last day in town to sell off her salvage and make her weapons were in the best condition possible.

She slipped her leather armor on over her cloths and slung her bag over her shoulder, than she left. Rachel took the key with her; there wasn't anyone to return it too anyway.

When she opened the door she paused, hanging on the doorknob on the other side was a red first Recon beret. Rachel smiled a little to herself and slipped in on over her short red hair. Boone must have left it there before his shift.

This early in the morning it was still a comfortable temperature. Rachel was glad she was going to get a couple decent hours of walking before the Mojave heat set in.

She was just about to pass the bloodstained ground were Jenny's body had been when she felt eyes drilling into her back. Rachel turned and looked up into the dinosaurs mouth were Boone was watching her. She saluted him, and he nodded saluting back. It wasn't the most touching goodbye but for them it was enough.

Rachel glared from behind her sunglasses, It was bright and hot and she was pretty sure she was weeks away from reaching DC. She stayed near the side of the road, not wanting to make herself a target, and lit a cigarette to pass the time.

She had surprised herself when she kept up smoking when out of Boone's company but she simply accepted the fact that she wasn't a social smoker anymore. In fact she wasn't sure she was much of a social anything anymore. People weren't worth getting close too, they just open a path to break your heart. And those were just the few that wouldn't actually try to kill you.

Rachel kept one foot in front of the other and kept walking. Step after step, mile after mile.

She was sitting next to a small fire she'd built to take off the nights chill when she'd heard gunfire not too far away. She was on her feet in an instance, kicking dirt over her fire with her boot.

Rachel crouched low with her rifle in hand. She moved towards the shots quickly, coming up over a hill and laying on her stomach. A girl a little older then she was was fighting off a raider hunting party.

There was five raiders left, four dead on the ground. The girl was taking cover behind a rock and her only back-up was a dog. Rachel gritted her teeth and homed she wouldn't live to regret this, not everyone you help in the wasteland was thankful.

She aimed she rifle and fired, watching as the raider woman closest to the girl fell. She aimed again and fired, helping a man remove his head.

The girl tossed her gun aside and pulled up a pistol, it looked like her assault rifle had jammed.

Each girl took down another raider and the dog killed the last.

There was a long moment of silence and Rachel watched as the girl called her dog, then, squinting up at Rachel hill, started her way.

Rachel sighed and foot to her feet, rifle trained on the other girls heart.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you," She said, hands in the hair showing Rachel she wasn't planning on fighting.

Reluctantly Rachel lowered her weapon, "You're welcome, looked like you were pinned down,"

"I was, damn gun jammed up again. And as good as she is, Dogmeat here can only do so much," She said, fondling the dogs ear.

Rachel raised an eyebrow at the dog's name.

"Do you know if there is any work available out west?" She asked and Rachel thought.

"If you're up to a lot of travel you could try the Mojave Express, it's a courier company located in Primm."

"You wouldn't happen to know how far that is would you?" She asked and Rachel nodded, noticing the PipBoy on the girls arm

"Yeah, I can program it in if you want," She offered,

"Sure," and the girl held out her arm.

While she fiddled with the dials Rachel asked, "You wouldn't know where I could find work in the DC area?

"You could try a town called Megaton, it can be seen if you follow this road another week or so. From a distance it looks like a broken metal dome. If you don't have any luck there you should just find a working radio and listen to a guy named Three Dog, the bastard is always full of news," She told Rachel, "Oh and if you end up meeting Three Dog will you tell him you saw 101 heading west?"

Rachel nodded, not sure was it meant but filing it way in case she did meet this Three Dog guy.

Rachel finished with the pipboy and then nodded, "Want me to look at your gun? I'm low on caps and good with guns and explosives,"

101 nodded and handed over the jammed rifle. Rachel looked it over and saw the problem, the was a piece that was broken and rusted out. It would be hard to jury-rig but she dug threw her stash of spare parts, pulling out the one she needed. It took several minutes but finally she loaded the weapon gave a few experimental shots.

"Here, it should be fine now,"

101 nodded appreciably, pulling a cloth bag from the pocket of her duster and handing it over. "Thanks and here. I had some saved up from a few things I did for the brotherhood, I figure you deserve it since you saved my life and by fix this have likely saved it a few more times in the weeks to come,"

By the weight Rachel knew it was more than enough to cover the cost of the repair, and so she didn't look inside. She just thanked the curious wanderer and they parted always. As silently wished the other woman luck. And so did 101 even though there was no way Rachel could know that.

101 was good to her word, Rachel saw the strange dome like shape across the Wasteland a little over a week later. She was thankful for that, because she was in dire need of supplies. She'd run out of water yesterday and finished off her last Nuka-cola a few hours ago.

Rachel left the road and head for what she was sure was Megaton. It was later in the day maybe four when she was greeted by a battered protectron outside the gate.

"Please hold for threat level assessment," it told her in it electronic voice, she stood there glaring at it. "Treat level…minimal. Open gates. Welcome to Megaton, Friendliest town around."

She looked up and saw a man with a gun holding a button as the gates opened. She nodded in his direction and she nodded back.

Rachel entered and looked around. The settlement was very large and her gut feeling was that it was actually a pretty safe place to live.

A man approached and she instinctually put her hand on the pistol on her hip.

"No need for that," He told her, "Names Lucas Sims, I'm the sheriff here,"

Rachel nodded, relaxing

"Seems like you've been out in the wastes awhile, if you want to know where anything is just ask, and don't let me catch you causing any trouble." There was a warning in his tone the she didn't miss and she nodded again.

"Actually do you know if there is any work available in town? Or a place I can get a drink?"

Sims nodded, "for booze and work talk to Moriarty, but be careful with him, he's a piece of work,"

"Aright, name's Rachel by the way,"

Sims nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, if your any good with explosives kid?"

Rachel shrugged; she was tired, thirsty but intrigued. "I know my way around,"

"Then maybe I have a job for you, see there's this bomb in the middle of town, damn thing is armed. See I need it deactivated quietly because there is some crazies that worship the bitch. Somebody tried a couple years ago but didn't have the know-how,"

"I might be able to take care of it," She told him, not really wanting to stay in a town that could explode as they spoke.

"There are caps in it for you if you can get the job done tonight while the Followers of Atom are asleep." He told her and she nodded again,

"Well Sheriff, I think you've got yourself a deal," She told him, reaching out and shaking his hand.

**Hey everybody, I hope you like this chapter even though it feels a little bit like a filler to me, thought I really wanted to have The Lone Wanderer set Rachel on her current path and I wanted Rachel to turn The Lone Wanderer in The Courier. Because in my head they are the same person. Anyway! Reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The iron creaked under her feet as she climbed to Moriarty's Saloon. She didn't really want to be social but she did want to have a drink and maybe some food. She had her plans for later that night and the saloon seemed like a decent place to kill time.

She opened the door and took in the scent of humans, cigarettes, and booze. Rachel took a seat on a stool and nodded to the ghoul wiping out glasses.

"A new face, what'll be smoothskin?" he asked her and a gravely voice, and she noticed he stood back, out of arms reach.

"Scotch if you have it, and anything you can find for me to eat," She told him, meeting his eyes.

He nodded and poured a glass of amber liquid and set it in front of her, and then he retreated to find her some food.

Sipping the scotch Rachel sighed as it burned the dust from her throat. She rubbed her eyes and looked up when the ghoul reappeared, setting a crunchy mutfruit on the counter in front of her.

"Thanks," she told him, the long weeks in the wasteland catching up with her. She dug around in her pocket and came up with some caps. "How much?"

"Seven caps should cover," he said, going back to his cleaning.

Rachel was confused, that only covered the drink. "I think I owe you more," she argued

The ghoul stopped and looked at her, "the fruit is on me, don't worry about it,"

"Thank you," she told him, and made a silent vow to pay him back.

Somebody growled, "hey gob, get you zombie ass over here with another beer!"

The ghoul sighed under his breath and picked a beer off the shelf, bringing it to a rough looking man sitting two seats to her right.

The guy a sip and growled again, "this is piss warm!" he was outraged,

The ghoul, Gob, scowled. "Jericho you know damn well the refrigerator is broken, nothing I can do about it,"

The drunken Jericho answered by throwing his beer bottle at the ghoul. Gob tried to dodge but the bottle shattered on his right shoulder, and her let out a cry of pain on impact. Rachel was off of her stool before she even had decided to act. She was still anger about Carla and didn't mind a good fight one bit.

"Hey!" she yelled at Jericho, who was also on his feet. He blinked several times, staring at the fiery girl with golden eyes.

"What a 'matter girl. Can't handle a little violence?" he taunted, fueling the fire burning inside of Rachel. The ghoul had been nothing but nice since she'd walked in, he did deserve have bottle thrown at him.

"Why don't you come over here and I'll show you how much violence I can handle," she challenged in a dangerous tone.

Jericho grinned, dark intentions in his eyes, as he sauntered over to her. She was lean, only reaching 5'2" and while she was strong she didn't look like it.

When he was almost at an arm's length away Rachel gritted her teeth, took two quick steps forward and punched him hard, throwing her body into it.

The big man yelp as she connected with his temple and her crumpled on the floor, unconscious.

"Whoa there lassy," the voice behind her was light and every Irish, "remind me not to piss you off, Gob drag his sorry ass outside."

Rachel turned to face a man who had spoken. "Yeah, well I've haven't had the best couple months, and he was being…rude."

"My names Colin Moriarty, nice to me you…?" he tailed off as she took his offered hand, answering his unasked question.

"Rachel,"

"Ah, Rachel dear, let me be the first to apologize for Jericho. The old bastard does have a nasty bite when he's angry," he said, nodding towards the man on the floor.

"So do I," he told him, still pissed. She watched as Gob bent to drag the man out wincing when he put the weight on his shoulder. Moriarty didn't make a move to help, and she'd noticed the bar owner didn't seem to be at all concerned about his employee.

"Stop," she barked and the ghoul straightened up, startled. "I wanna throw his ass out, I like finishing what I started. And without waiting for an answer she grabbed the front of the man's shirt and dragged him to out the door. She dropped his body unceremoniously on the ground, then turned on her heel and walked back inside.

Rachel ignored the stairs from the owner, ghoul and everyone else that had watched the fight. She just sat back on her stool and picked up her drink. She heard the Irish man laugh and he left, going outside.

Gob came back around the bar, and when the door was securely closed and stepped close to her and said in a hushed tone, "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that. I get worse beating when I don't keep all the glasses wiped down."

She looked at him for a long moment, and sighed. "I know I didn't have to. But bigots annoy me, and that was fun,"

Gob laughed and a woman came up behind Rachel, leaning on the counter to join the conversation.

"It was fun to watch too, you're a real fighter," she purred, "I'm Nova by the way,"

Rachel nodded and pulled the knife from her boot, it didn't looked like there was any blood on it but she asked Gob to wipe it down anyway. He did and she began to peel her fruit.

"Colin didn't seem very concerned about you," she commented between bites.

Nova and Gob exchanged looks, and then Nova replied, "Colin would rather make sure his guest are taken care of,"

"You mean he's an old asshole who more interested in the days caps then the people under his employment," she said flatly,

"you're a smart girl," Gob said and he smiled, "you ever need anything just ask alright. I'll help out if I can."

"I'm looking for work actually," Rachel commented.

Gob thought for a minute, "I have a letter I want to send to my mother, she lives in Underworld."

"Underworld?" Rachel asked

"Yeah, you must be new to DC, Underworld is a city of ghouls in the Museum of History." He told her. If you think it's worth the cap Moira up at Caterside Supply might have a mapping device. She takes in all kinds of salvage. She'll be about to close now but see her in the morning."

Rachel nodded, "Alright, and I'll take your letter to underworld,"

"are you sure, I don't have many caps," he warned, knowing she would probably back out,"

"Why don't we just say you owe me a favor?" she countered.

Gob regarded her and then nodded. "Alright, I'll go get it," and he left, heading upstairs.

Nova was still beside her, "that was real nice," she commented

"Yeah," Rachel said sarcastically, "I'm a nice person,"

"You are," she insisted seriously, "you remind me of another girl who used to come through town every now and then. She was real nice too, driven. You're driven too but in a different way. You're going to change our lives, I can tell."

Rachel laughed for the first time in what seemed liked years, "You've been jetting,"

Nova winked and stepped back, "only a little,"

Gob reappeared and handed over a dirty but sealed letter. "Here, I wrote the address on the front,"

Rachel looked at the letter. It read:

Carol

Carol's Place, Underworld

Museum of History, DC Ruins Mall

Rachel nodded and put the letter in an inside pocket of her leather vest. I'll go to see Moira about a mapping device in the morning, and then I'll come find you for directions.

Rachel finished her drink and then bought a bottle for later. Finally she got up and said goodnight to Nova and Gob, heading out onto the balcony overlook Megaton. It was late and dark, most of the people were asleep now.

She wandered inconspicuously down the ramps and when she reached the dirt she tucked herself into the shadows. She waited for a moment for a man to pass by and then she made her way to the bomb.

She inspected it and then opened its control was a standard per-war atom bomb, and she set to work. Feeling along the wires and disconnecting the charge. When it was safely disarmed she when the extra mile and yanked out the control chip and a bunch of wires. They sparked and then it was still.

Shoving the wires in her pocket she closed and panel door and looked around. Nobody was there. Half of her mouth tipped up in a self-satisfied smile and she headed up towards Sims house.

She wasn't at all surprised to see the sheriff waiting up for her in a chair outside his door.

"It's done," she told him, handing over the chip she removed.

Sims took a deep breath, "I'll be damned, you really did it,"

Rachel nodded, "With you church group none the wiser," she told him and he grinned.

"Here, her told her, "500 caps as promised, I heard today at the saloon you put Jericho on the ground,"

She nodded, wondering if he was going to escort her from town. Instead he laughed. "Good for you girl, just watch your back around him. I don't know how he's going to take get his ass knocked out,"

Rachel nodded, glad for the warning;

"Sims, do you know where a girl could get some sleep around here?" she asked.

Sims pulled a sheet of paper from his duster, "As a matter a fact I do. See we don't just let anyone move into Megaton, most of the people here stay at the way house up the hill. But seeing as you saved all our asses I'm offering you the opportunity to have the empty house there," he pointed to a house not far from his own,

Rachel was stunned. "A house?"

"if you want it, call it an added bonus," he said,

"I do, never had a house before," she told him taking the papers and the keys he handed to her. The smooth metal of the old skeleton key felt good in her hand. "Thank you,"

"You earned it kid," he told her, getting to his feet. "Now, I'm going to bed," he said firmly and went inside.

Rachel went to her new front door and looked down at the key, she inserted it in the door and had a little rush a pleasure as the lock clicked open.

Inside it was clean, and lights were on. A Mr. Handy floated into the living room and stopped in front of her. His saw the key and deed in her hands.

"Welcome home Madam, I'm Wadsworth. Your personal butler,"

"Hello," she said, surprised. "um…Wadsworth was is?" she ask politely.

"Yes Madam?"

"Is there a bed in here?" she asked

"Of course Madam, follow me," and he started up the stairs. He stopped by a door and she thanked him, telling him she would speak with him more in the morning. The Mr. Handy bid her a good night and went back downstairs.

Rachel turned to the bed and smiled, setting her pack on the desk in the room. She stripped off her armor and under clothes, then pulled on a tank top, settling into the bed. She doubted anybody would get in past Wadsworth without her hearing, but she had locked the door and put her gun within reach just in case.

A sigh escaped her lips and she finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Hey everyone! Today I'm off work and didn't want to be bored so I put off the dishes to bring you another chapter today! Because I love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

A gasp rushed air into her lungs as Rachel woke with a start. Another nightmare had disrupted her sleep and she was glad she'd woken from it early, living in hell every night wasn't fun.

She looked around at the unfamiliar walls with a stab of panic for a full five seconds and then began to remember the night before. She was in her own bed, in her very own house in Megaton.

"You've been in the DC area for something like forty-eight hours and you have a house," the whispered to herself, still in disbelief.

Despite her nightmare she'd slept surprising well, and as she dressed she knew that she wasn't going to give up this house for anything. It had been a long time, longer even then when she'd returned to Novac to find Carla missing, that she'd felt even a little bit rested.

Wadsworth greater her at the bottom of the stair, "Good Morning madam!" he was very chipper this morning.

"Good morning," She replied and then thought for a second, "So Wadsworth, what do you do exactly?" she asked, "I've never had a butler before."

"I perform all household chores; I am also programed with the latest fashions in hairstyles, information on Megaton and the surrounding area. I am programmed with a delightful humor array if I do say so myself, and if madam is thirsty I am equip with air condensers and can provide purified water for you, Madam." He told her promptly,

"Would you mind calling me Miss, or Rachel?" she asked "Madam makes me feel old,"

"Of course Miss Rachel," he said enthusiastically in his robotic voice and she smiled ever so softly in spite of herself.

"So you really can make purified water?"

Wadsworth began to make a humming noise, and then door opened in his front and he handed over a bottle of cold clean water. Rachel unscrewed the cap and took a sip. She had never tasted anything so fresh.

"Wadsworth!" she exclaimed, "I think you might be worth your weight in caps!"

"My exoskeleton is made of dense alumni alloy, at its current world value I am worth 1.83 times my weight in today's value of a bottle cap." He told her.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "was that your humor array at work?"

"Yes Miss Rachel,"

She chuckled and moved towards the door, "I'm going to talk to Moira, I'll be back and then I'm going away for a while." She told him. She never liked talking to robots like they were stupid. Most of them had advanced A.I systems and by extent she figured they had something pretty close to feelings.

Rachel left, heading up the walkway to Moira's shop. She walked in and a bubbly little read head greater her.

"Why hello there, it's so nice to have a new face in town. Can I interest you in a copy of my new book, The Wasteland Survival Guide?"

"Um… sure I guess, but I actually came in for something specific. Gob said you might have a mapping device lying around. I'm new to the area and have a job heading into the city,"

Moira nodded enthusiastically, "I have something better!" She disappeared into another room and Rachel heard her go up the stairs. She wondered if she should follow but the look on the face of the guard leaning on the wall told her to stay put.

While Rachel waited she browsed Moira's shop. The woman had a beautiful sniper rifle hanging on the wall behind the counter. Rachel could see herself holding it, but she knew a weapon that fine would be way more the then she had.

A horribly loud crash sounded upstairs and the guard leaned around the doorway, looking up.

"I'm okay," Moira called from upstairs and he settled back against the wall. It seemed like he was used the red head falling and crashing. Rachel heard her coming back downstairs.

"Here we go, I found it." She told the other girl proudly, holding up a familiar looking contraption.

"Is that a Pipboy?" She asked, wondering how in the world Moira would have gotten one.

"Yeah, it's a Vault-tech Pipboy 3001," Moira told her proudly and Rachel's brows knit together.

"I thought the last model made was the 3000?" Rachel asked and Moira waved her hand dismissively.

"Yeah well this used to be a 3000, but after I improved it I didn't think it qualified at a 3000 anymore," She explained,

Rachel just nodded, it made sense to her.

"Here, hold out your arm," Moira told her, and Rachel obeyed. "See, I refurbished the Pipboy itself and then I added a couple perks. It has a temperature gage and a communication device," She said, securing the old world tech to Rachel's arm and then handing her four devices. They looked like wrist watches, but instead of the clock face there was a tiny speaker.

"See, you press the button on the right to turn them on and off and the button on the left to speak. They only work if you're within a mile or two of each other though,"

"That's amazing Moira!" Rachel told the erratic woman and Moira blushed at the praise.

"How much?"

"Oh, I like you. I'll give you the Pipboy and the book for say…600caps?" she asked and Rachel thought that it had to be low for what she was getting.

Rachel agreed and added Ammo, rad-away, med-x and stimpaks to her order, silently grateful for the Caps the strange wanderer had given her.

After getting supplied Rachel headed up to the saloon. She walked up to Gob, thankful the ghouls horrible owner, and she suspected _Master_, wasn't around. The friendly Ghoul showed her how to access the map on her Pipboy and then set in the coordinance for Underworld.

Rachel thanked him for his help and then headed back to her house to reorganize her pack. It didn't take long and when she was heading out the door Wadsworth met her there. He bid her a safe journey and handed her a smaller cloth bag, explaining that he'd pack her a lunch. She actually laughed, and gave the robot an affectionate hug before heading back out into the waste.

In just a couple hours Rachel found herself on a ridge overlooking the parking lot of an ancient Super-Duper Mart. The smell of death hit her nostrils as the wind carried the scents from the parking.

She sighed_; I should probably move past_, she thought while marking the old store's location on her new device.

Rachel stayed where she was and watched for a few long minutes, and when there was no movement down on the cracked pavement, or any sound either, she made her decision.

She crept down the hill and had a careful look around. She planned to pick the bodies she was sure she'd find and then she would move on. It wasn't like it was out of her way, and in post-apocalyptia Waste-not-want-not.

Rachel carefully made her way down to the open ground, stealthy, listening for any sign of danger.

She peeked around the corner of the building and gasped with wide eyes. The bodies of raiders lay everywhere. It looked like the whole camp of them had been ripped to shreds. On the other side of the lot she could see bodies of a different kind. Three large Deathclaw bodies lay baking in the sun. Then bodies of smaller deathclaws littered the ground.

Rachel froze, scanning the area slowly for any of the deadly beasts that might be still alive. Seeing nothing she cautiously made her way towards the beast.

Looking around she spotted the head of an adolescent deathclaw mounted over the door. The scene around her started whispering to her. And as she took in more of the carnage it could have been yelling in her ear the story of what had happened here.

It looked like a raider had taken down a younger deathclaw. Bringing it's head back home as his trophy.

Deathclaws were fiercely territorial, and pack oriented. The head over the door couldn't be from a beast more than two years old. It was young, still attached to it's mother, just a teenager.

She'd clearly tracked her baby's killer to here and ever-loyal, many for her children followed her.

Very suddenly Rachel caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The olive skinned females head lolled to the side.

Heart pounding in her chest Rachel had her gun up and she was backing away. The females head twitched again and a tiny little deathclaw crawled out from under it's mother.

Looking around quickly she could see it was half the size of the other babies around her.

_The poor thing_, she thought with pity. Being the runt of the mama's brood she probably ignored the little thing. Pushing it away and leaving it behind. In the wasteland only the strong survive. And it's mother's cold shoulder is what very likely had kept it alive. Arriving only after the fight had stopped.

It spotted her and she readied her rifle. Even the runty little things were deadly to humans. Needless to say the human species was no longer on the top of the food chain.

The little guy jumped up on his mother bloated body, and made a noise in Rachel's direction. She imagined it was supposed to be a roar, but it was more like a screech.

"Awe," she said, lowering her gun. It was still in her hands though. She took three steps back, trying to show she meant know harm. And as she did it, she couldn't believe she meant know harm. The thing about baby deathclaws is that they grow up. If she left she knew it would undoubtedly starve to death, problem solved without wasting a bullet.

Rachel got to one knee, setting her gun on the ground rather than sling it back over her shoulder, easier to get to if this turned out to be a bad idea.

The little deathclaw stepped off the mother's body and cautiously crept in her direction, coming to a car twenty feet for the human and peering around the corner. Rachel kept her eyes on him has she felt around in her food pack, her fingers bumping against a lump of mole rat meat wrapped in a waterproof oiled cloth.

She brought it out and slowly unwrapped it, careful not to make any sudden movements. The smell of fresh meat got the things attention and it stepped out from behind the car, watching her. It cocked it's head from left to right, skittering back like it was a grenade when she tossed the meat in his direction.

A sensible survivalist voice in the back of her mind that sounded an awfully lot like Boone groaned_. "Don't feed it!"_

She hushed that part of her mind, watching in fascination has the little deathclaw crept forward, looking quickly from the meat to Rachel herself and back. She stayed absolutely still. He sniffed the meat then licked it.

Apparently it was to his liking because he fell on it like a starving man. And he probably was. From what she knew deathclaw ate fresh meat, leaving the rotting corpses that covered the capitol wasteland at any given time for the Yao Guai and other scavengers of the waste.

Rachel stood slowly, bringing her gun up with her and she started to back away, feeling like she'd done her good deed for the day_. Their little guy, live one more day_. Half of her wished she could help it more, the other half reminded her that it was going to get bigger, a lot bigger.

She turned around at the edge of the lot, checking her map and then heading in the direction of the metro that's supposed to let out in the city.

She walked for another hour, give or take and found the metro. She had just put her foot on the first stair when she heard a pattering noise. She spun, rifle in her hands and faltered. It was the little deathclaw running towards her.

It spotted her looking at him and he hit the brakes, bracing his legs at a forward angle to stop. Unfortunately he didn't seem to know how to gage distance and speed yet, and ended tumbling ass over head to land sprawled just six feet from her dusty boots.

"Oh…shit," she muttered to herself. As he carefully got to his feet, shaking the dirt from his eyes. He looked at Rachel and squeaked.

"No," she told him firmly, "I shouldn't have feed you in the first place, I know, but I can't give you all my food either, I don't have that much."

He cocked his little reptile head at her and groaned, taking two steps forward. Rachel took a single step back. "No," she told it again. "Go," and she pointed back out into the wasteland. "Go back to where ever it is you came from, I can't have a deathclaw for a pet.

It stepped up to her and in a quick movement butted it's head against her leg, rubbing up against her. Rachel was on the edge of melting but she knew she had to be firm even if what was happening was amazing. She reached in her bag and pulled out some Brahmin jerky, waving it in the air to get his attention.

He looked up and yipped, tongue lolling out like a dog. She almost laughed, almost.

Rachel moved down the steps and opened the gate to the tunnel behind her, then she tossed the jerky up over the steps.

The deathclaw scampered after it and she slipped into the metro, closing the gate behind her.

_Sorry Claws, but I can't be your new mama_, She thought as she walked quickly threw the darkness, gun securely in her hand.

**Yay! Chapter 7 for your enjoyment. A big Thank You to Jake111 for helping me with the Idea of Claws, I almost left it out feeling it was too silly. But I think now if I write it right it will fit in every well.**

**P.S: I think you all can probably guess that Rachel is far from getting rid of him. And I can't wait to share some of the things I have planned for him.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The screech of metal bending sounded horribly loud in the dead silent Metro Tunnel. Rachel stooped dead in her tracks, instinctively dropping to one knee. She'd only been in the tunnel for a minute or two but already no light from outside penetrated.

She heard the echo of footsteps and then groaned as she recognized the quick patter, and click of sharp claws on old concert.

She turned and sure enough, Claws was running in her direction, nose up like he was following her scent. Suddenly she realized he was. Deathclaws didn't have great eyesight on the best day.

When he was even with her she saw his shape turn sharply and he smacked into her, the force knocking her on her ass.

He nosed her elbow and inhaled deeply, giving a little yip that echoed off the walls. She had an insane moment where she thought the yip sounded prideful.

"shh," she hissed, hearing a grunt from further down in the tunnel.

"Claws. No. Go-" a hiss from the darkness cut her off and the unmistakable sound of a feral ghoul hit her ears.

Rachel turned to face the direction of the sound, her breath caught when she heard it hiss louder, and then the frantic patter of its charging feet. She brought her gun up the fired, the shots illuminating the tunnel like a strobe light.

The fell to the ground after three bullets embedded in its foul body. Rachel didn't have time to celebrate because the echo of gunfire brought the others. They were always in packs…or swarms might be the better word.

Knowing her rifle would be hard to aim and to slow to reload in the darkness she stuck with her SMG. The strobe light from her gun giving her a horrible view of the four other feral ghouls charging her way.

Claw was pressed tightly to the back of her legs, shriving with fear. _Top of the food chain my ass, _Rachel thought while grinding her teeth together.

Three fell before getting within arm's reach of her, the four charged past it fallen counterpart and swiped viciously at her with both hands.

She cried out at three of its filthy fingers caught her throat; she stumbled back, falling over her deathclaw. Her SMG went skittering across the floor and she scrambled after it, the feral advanced, sharply. Rachel looked up at the monster, reaching back for her weapon.

Claws was suddenly there between her the newest threat to her life, sinking his teeth into the ferals ankle. It screeched and Rachel used it's distraction to lung for her gun. She rolled and aimed while still on her back, sending four rounds into its head with a snarl of her own.

The corpse crumpled onto the floor and Claws shook it's leg.

Rachel laid her gun over her stomach, panting lightly.

"Nice of you to jump in," she told the deathclaw with exasperation, "I was starting to think you were going to run away from one lone ghoul,"

Claws looked at her and then sniffed the Feral, he sneezed and Rachel laughed, getting to her feet. "You know, maybe we can make this work, since you seem dead set of fallowing me around anyway. I mean, if you can keep me from getting eaten, that could be helpful,"

Claws was still looking over the ghoul, and when he licked it she snapped her fingers, "Hey," she snapped, "Don't eat that,"

He snorted but fell into place at her heel when she started walking. Rachel shook her head, how had she managed this.

Darkness had settled over the capital wasteland and the golden eyed scavenger was glad for small favors as they exited the metro.

Rachel scanned the mall and checked her Pipboy, Underworld was right up ahead. There didn't seem to be any dangers lurking close by so she holstered her gun, taking a breath of cool air.

A soft gurgle noise brought her attention down to Claws and she bit her lower lip. There was no way in hell she could bring him into Underworld. She looked around and spotted a rusted dumpster set against the wall of the closet building.

Lifting the lid she was happy to find it empty. She paused for a moment, and then picked him up. He looked at her but made no move to free himself. She let out the breath she'd been holding and set the little beast inside the relative safety of the dumpster.

He seemed confused, so she put her finger to her lips. Rachel dug in her pack and pulled out her blanket, making Claws a nest. Next she put a little bowl of water and the last of her mole rat meat.

"I'll be back in the morning," she whispered, "I promise,"

Claws settled into the blanket and she closed the lid, waiting for a few second to see if he was going to freak out. He seemed to be fine.

With a sigh of relief she slung her pack over her shoulder and turned towards Underworld.

In only a couple minutes she was standing in front of the building, a female century coming towards her.

"What do you want tourist?" she rasped,

"I'm here to deliver a letter," Rachel told the woman, "To Carol,"

The ghoul lowered her gun, and then slung it over her shoulder. She nodded and lit a cigarette. "Go ahead in Tourist,"

Rachel nodded, and opened the doors. Her eye widen when she saw the skeleton on the huge animal in the right of the room, and another creature with a long nose covered in fur on the left.

The crowd of people around a ghoul on a platform was the second thing to get her attention. He seemed to be selling Aqua Pura, saying it could cure ghoulisum, bring back skin and hair. Rachel thought it sound a little to go to be true.

She touched the nearest ghouls shoulder and when he turned to look at her she asked politely, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find a woman named Carol? Of Carol's Place?"

He nodded and gave her directions. She thanked him quietly and let him get back to the show. Rachel headed threw a second pair of doors and stopped to marvel at the city of ghouls.

She took the steps on the left and entered a pair of doors, stopping just inside a bar. The door was still held open by her hand and she glanced at the sign. The Ninth Circle.

She shrugged and let the door close behind her, thinking a quick drink to wet her parched throat would be a good idea.

A ghoul in a suit threw an oily smiled at her as she stepped up to the bar. "Don't you look absolutely…miserable." He told her and she got the feeling he was _trying_ to sound concerned. "Pull up a stool and lay down a few caps, tell uncle Ahzrukhal all about it,"

Rachel lifted one sleek eyebrow, "Scotch," she told him, laying her caps on the bar.

He poured the drink and she took it, heading for a table in the corner where she could see most of the room. The olny other person near the chair she'd zeroed in on was a massive ghoul leaning against the wall.

She eyed him and his own grey blue eyes stared back. She pulled out a chair and sat, leaning back with the big man on her right and the door on her left. She sipped her scotch and glanced at him. She could feel his presence pressing on her as if it were a physical thing.

This was an alpha male, she could tell. Ferocity poured off from him, and even with armor on she could see the bulge of her muscles.

She nodded in his direction and after what seemed like a full minute he gave the slightest nod back.

Charon wasn't usually interested by the patrons in the bar unless they were causing trouble, but the little smoothskin sitting next to him was different. He kept his face dead but he gave her credit for entering his space, most strangers stayed clear of him. Most people who knew him did too, he was fine with that.

He'd seen her when she'd walked in, like he saw everybody, gauging the possible treat level they could be. She was thin, short, but he didn't miss the hard muscle peeking out under worn but well cared for armor. Neither had he missed her equally well cared for weapons, or was scratches on her pale throat that told of a recent fight.

Her red hair and strange golden eyes reminded him of a good campfire, it was the most he'd thought of anyone in a positive way in over a hundred years.

Charon realized he was still watching her and forced his gaze back over the sullen patrons on The Ninth Circle.

Rachel felt his eyes leave her and she sipped her Scotch. The liquid burning down her throat in a pleasant way. She looked over her shoulder, up at the big ghoul that was dominating the room.

"So, what's your name?" she asked, having nothing better to do.

His eyes flicked down to her and he growled, "Talk to Ahzrukhal,"

"I already did, he seems like a creep, I'd rather talk to you," she cocked one sleek eyebrow.

This time the ghoul didn't answer, he just stared ahead. She wanted to believe that there had been a flicker of amusement in his milky eyes but she couldn't be sure.

Rachel sighed, downing the rest of her scotch and standing. She wondered what was turning him off to a simple conversation with her but she let it go for now. She still had a job to do.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The ghoul behind the counter of Carol's Place smiled when Rachel walked through the door. The woman had a few locks of blonde hair clinging definitely to her scalp and was even now pretty, Rachel noted as she nodded at her.

"Well hello dear, it's so good to see a new face, we get so few new visitors in Underworld," The woman cooed, Rachel had an instant stab of liking for the good natured ghoul.

"Hello Ma'am, I'm looking for Carol? Am I right in assuming that's you?" Rachel asked with a pleasant nod.

"Why yes, what can I do for you," She tilted her head, and for a second she looked worried, wondering what on earth this stranger could want with her.

Rachel reached into the front of her worn armor and pulled out the letter she'd tucked safely into a hidden pocket there. She handed it over to the woman saying, "Delivery Ma'am; from a man in Megaton named Gob,"

Carol gave a little start of surprise as took the letter carefully, her face lighting up when she recognized the hand writing on the front. "Gob! You've met him, where is he? Is he safe? He's my son you see, well not really but I love him like my own,"

Rachel laughed softly for the first time in months, it was a chocked sound from lack of use but Carol was nice enough not to comment on it if she'd noticed. "When I saw him he appeared to be fine, I'm sure he's said a lot in that letter,"

Even though the skin on the skin on the woman's face was leathery and dry Rachel could have sworn she was blushing. "Oh yes! Of course, and here I am babbling away like a fool. Here stay here tonight, free of charge and Let me get you a few caps for coming all this way,"

Rachel almost let here go, but something about the way she'd lit up when she'd heard her adopted sons name, the way Carol had made her honestly laugh, she decided to tell a little fib. "You don't have too Carol, Gob already paid me for the trip out here,"

"Are you sure Dear?" Carol asked, clearly willing to pay her anyway but she still shook her head, "Well okay, but please still accept a bed,"

"Alright, thank you. It's always nice to have a safe place to sleep at night,"

Carol nodded, "Oh yes, you don't have to worry about an attack here at all, nobody dangerous has every gotten past the main room into the actual city."

Rachel blinked twice; she'd heard that underworld had been established since the Great War. "Really? Not ever?"

"No, I've been here since the bombs dropped you see, and every once in a while a group of raiders or slavers manages to get past the super mutants to attack but we have Quinn and Willow and the robot Cerberus. And then if it gets really bad Ahzrukhal sends Charon out to help,"

"Charon? Is that the man standing in the corner on The Ninth Circle? I tried to shoot the shit with him but he didn't seem very interested," She asked, the big ghoul coming back into her thoughts.

"Yes well he doesn't really talk to anyone, Ahzrukhal doesn't like when he talks to patrons, not that he would mind you," Carol told her while Rachel raised an eyebrow,

"So he works for Ahzrukhal?" She asked getting the feeling that that wasn't quite the case, _what kind of boss forbids you to speak?_ Her mind brought up a picture of Moriarty and she grimaced.

"I think it's a good deal more than employment, Dear. I don't know the details but the poor boy has been in that bar for, well it has to be close to seventy years now," She looked like she really did feel sorry for Charon and Rachel bit the inside of her lip, thinking.

Carol must have caught the wheels turning behind her golden eyes because she took Rachel's hand, guiding her into a chair next to a little table. "Be careful, Ahzrukhal not a nice man, I don't want you to getting into any trouble. Here, why don't I get you a nice bowl of noodles?"

Rachel nodded, accepting the offer as she dropped her pack on the floor against her left leg. She thought about what Carol had said, flashes of legionary soldiers and people on slaves blocks running through her mind along with everything else.

Fury started to build in the pit of her stomach and she forced it down into a tight little ball, hidden deep within herself. The ball had been there since Novac. Rachel doing her Damnedest to keep it contained.

She knew herself well enough to know that she'd come so far east to escape; and also that she'd been childishly naive. Slavers were everywhere in the vast wasteland. It did seem to be less tolerated on the eastern coast, or maybe they just had less organized slavers, either way it was still certainly apart of life in the Capitol Wasteland.

Carol set a steaming bowl in front of her and then retreated with Gobs letter tucked close to her chest. Rachel sighed and dug in. The hot food helping to ease her bad mood. Still her mind wandered though. Despite Carol's warning she couldn't help think how having a body guard in this unfamiliar part to the apocalyptic world might not be a shabby idea.

That and making the slippery fuck running the bar wrap around her finger and bend to her will would be amazingly satisfying_. By the end of the night he won't know what the fuck hit him_.

She knew she'd to do a little recon first; going in blind wouldn't accomplish anything. After that, she be able to walking with her bag of caps and do a little covert-ops. If very thing when well she'd be setting the bouncer free by morning.

A predatory smile broke out over here face as she continued eating. When she was done, drinking the broth from the bowl, she stood and slung her pack over her should. Turning and running smack into a another female ghoul.

"Oh fuck!" Rachel stammered out, taking a few steps back and discreetly put a hand near her pistol. The woman either didn't notice or didn't care.

"It's fine. Listen, that woman you were talking to. Stay away from her. She's mine," the woman growled.

Rachel put up her hands in an _I-mean-you-no-harm _gesture and shook her head, "Hey I like Carol, she's a lovely woman, but I'm not interested in playing catch the cutie with her. I promise,"

She regarded Rachel for a long moment then sighed, "Fine smoothskin, I'm Greta. And if you ever try anything funny, I'll kill you." She threatened smoothly, keeping her face sweet incase Carol or anyone else who walked in wouldn't know what was really going on.

Rachel matched her expression, though hers was a bit more real. For some reason she found herself liking Carol's Prickly girlfriend too. "Rachel, And _I promise_ if you come after me I'll kill you right back,"

Greta nodded, walking away without another word.

Sighing she left the hotel and headed back out of underworld. She wanted to see if she couldn't get the guard to share some secrets over a smoke and a drink. Going on the correct assumption that willow was a seasoned merc, she was sure she enjoyed both, and sure as hell spent more time in the Ninth then Carol.

**Chapter 10 will be up soon! I've got a few days off this week that I plan on using for writing! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Leaning against the stone wall to the left of the door to the Museum of History Rachel dug a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and tapped the pack on her palm.

Willow wandered over to the little red head, having nothing better to do she leaned against the same wall and Rachel silently offered over a cigarette. Willow took it and accepted the light the girl held out.

Rachel popped her own cigarette into the open flame of her lighter and pulled, sighing pleasantly as she blew the smoke out threw her nose. They were silent for a moment, both willow and Rachel looked out over the mall.

Rachel took another drag and then spoke, "So, anything exciting happening?"

"Not really, the brotherhood takes the occasional pot shot at me but their aim is terrible," Willow took another drag of her own cigarette and added, "Thanks for this thing," she held up the smoke, "I ran out this morning,"

"No problem, I'm bored anyway, I tried to have a drink in the Ninth Circle, but the owner's a creep and the only other person in there not entirely cocked was the bouncer, He didn't seem interested in drinking either,"

Willow snorted, "That would be Charon, Ahzrukhal keeps him on a leash so short it's a wander he hasn't hung himself with it."

"You'd think he'd say fuck it and quit," Rachel mused, flicking the ash to the ground.

"He can't, Ahzrukhal mentioned a contract a couple times when he first got ahold of Charon. Makes him loyal to the holder, I don't know the detail though," Willow took a final drag and flick her butt off into a nearby pile of rubble.

"Hmm," she mused and Willow raised the reminisce of an eyebrow, "What are to thinking Smoothskin?"

"I'm thinking I've got some caps saved up and I could use a body guard, I'm new to the area and all that," She told the sentry and the ghoulette laughed.

"Good luck with that tourist," she snorted, than thought for a second before she spoke again, "You're alright, for a human. If you do manage to get him off that wall loosen it leash yeah?"

"Yeah," She agreed, turning to head back inside.

As she left Willow shook her head, "Hope that kid knows what she doing, hope she's as alright as she seems,"

* * *

Rachel headed into the decrepit bathroom before heading back into underworld. She looked in the cracked mirror, wicked eyes looking back as she worked out the details of a plan in her mind.

She unbuckled her armor, setting it on a sink to the right. Rachel striped out of her dirty and stained white tank top and using a rag to clean the dirt from her skin. Next she pulled a clean sleeveless black V-neck top that fit snuggly to her curves.

Shimming out of her ripped and dirt streaked pants, switching them from a pair of tight black cargos. The shirt wasn't long enough to reach the low waistline of her pants, leaving a two and a half inch swath of exposed waist. It showed off the black vine tattoo crawling from her right hip, wrapping around her body to blossom black lily like flowers on her left shoulder.

She checked to make sure her boot knife was secure and hidden before stowing her armor in her pack along with her dirty cloths. She looked at her Pipboy and shrugged, she didn't actually know how to take if off and besides, him thinking she was recently out of a vault might work in her advantage, it might make her seem more naive, less threatening.

Flipping a side pocket of her pack open Rachel pulled out an eye pencil she'd found in a crumbling gas station. There was only about an inch left to it so she only used it for special occasions. She gave each eyelid a dark line right behind her eyelashes, blinking and check it's even-ness before putting it away.

Shaking her red hair out and wetting her hands in the water, she frowned as the Pipboy on her arm started to tick, warning of the radiation and she turned the knob to lower the volume.

She used her wet hands to spike out the ends of her hair and shook it again, smiling at the thousand little spikes sweeping away from her head. For a minute the girl thought about putting her beret back on but stowed it instead. She didn't want to give her target any reminder that she was dangerous.

Rachel finally pulled her modified 9mm pistol out of her bag, it was beautiful and had Maria engraved in the pearl handle. She thrust Maria into the special holster attached to her leg, the barrel extended just on inch over her boot and was easily hidden under the wide bottoms of her cargos.

Rachel inspected her reflection in the grimy mirror, nodding in satisfaction. She slung her pack over her shoulder, heading for the Ninth with her bag of caps tucked into a pouch on her leg.

Rachel headed through the concourse, the corner of her mouth ticking up as a few heads turned to watch her walk by and a couple men made appreciating sounds. Of course there were also a few whispers about _uppity fucking smoothskins_ but that didn't bother her at all as she climbed the stairs.

* * *

Charon grumbled under his breath, the patrons tonight were unusually dead to the world and it didn't look like he would need to toss anyone out on their sorry ass tonight. The thought was depressing, maybe if he was lucky patchwork would come in later and cause a scene. The only time he got to move off the dammed wall was the few short hours the bar was closed and he was allowed to sleep, or if somebody needed bouncing. _Fucking well behaved dead beats, it's been to fucking long since those fucking Talon assholes tried to attack. _

The door opened, his eyes flicking in the direction of the movement. His breath caught in his throat for a full second when the smoothskin strode in, tight black clothes and fiery hair a stark contrast to her pale skin. She'd been fresh from the ruins when he's seen her earlier, apparently she'd found a place to clean up.

Her eyes swept the room and landed on him, the look she gave him ratcheted her threat level up several steps. He growled, not liking the way she'd caught his, and every other person in the rooms, attention.

She went to the bar, his employers eyes fixated on the girl exposed chest. Charon growled again but stayed where he was. He was under strict orders to stay put unless Ahzrukhal verbally called. Besides, dressed like that the girl was in more danger then his employer was.

He tightened his arms a crossed his chest and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, very purposely avoiding looking at her. It was going to be a long ass night.

* * *

Rachel scanned the room as she swaggered into The Ninth, giving the bounce a wolf's grin when their eye met. She stepped up to the bar and slid onto a bar stool, twisting slightly so she could cross her legs and as she smiled up at the man behind the counter.

"Well hello," Ahzrukhal purred, leaning down in front of her. "My, my don't you look lovely,"

Rachel sweetened her smile, idly reaching up to play with a lock of her hair, "You're just saying that, all I did was find a sink I could freshen up with,"

"You don't realize your own strength then, is there something I can get for you? Scotch is your beverage of choice I believe?" he smirked at her, Rachel not missing the way his eye kept flicking down.

"Scotch would be lovely," she giggled, it sounded fake in her ears but the man was eating it up. "I finished my last bottle just a few minutes ago, and it's far too early to not have anymore."

Ahzrukhal's smirk broke into a full on grin as Rachel smiled back. She kept the flirtatious look locked on her face as he poured the amber liquid into a glass, _this is going to be too easy_, "Thank you,"

"So what does bring you to underworld?" he asked, clearly not intending to leave her. _Hook._ She thought, delighted it was going so smoothly.

"A courier job, I was hired to deliver a letter." She lifted her glass, letting half slide down her throat.

"Oh? Might I ask to who?" he refilled her glass and poured one for himself as she giggled again, shaking her head slowly back and forth.

"No, I operate with a certain _discretion_, I used to also operate with a certain speed, but I'm afraid I'm new to this side of the Wasteland, I'm from New Vegas you see,"

"New Vegas?" he asked, impressed, "That's a long way to come, did you travel alone?" he asked,

She took another long swig of scotch and nodded, "Yes, but I have to admit something to you, and I hope you think I'm wicked,"

"Oh I'm sure I won't my dear, what is it? I promise I won't think anything bad about you're pretty face," his gaze was turning hungry and she supposed she was getting points for being so friendly with a ghoul. Personal she didn't have anything against most ghouls, though this one was making her skin crawl. _Line._

"A little birdy told me that your bouncer in the corner might be just man I need for a guide and occasionally protection, I don't suppose you would be willing to give him to me?" she asked and he laughed, greed snaking into his eye along with the desire she saw there.

"Charon is a valuable employee with a special contract that makes him unable to disobey my commands. He can't bother me with that pesky sense of morality so many people are affect with these days. He is loyal to me exclusively; just what did you have in mind to trade?"

She swirled her glasses and sipped it, thinking. _So he is a slave or something like that. What would make him unable to disobey, fear? That seems unlikely, the guy is huge._

"Oh how dose...one thousand caps sound?"

"I paid quiet a good deal more, and I won't be able to replace him, that being said a single thousand caps does sound low, don't you think?" he raised an eyebrow and almost drained his glass.

Rachel looked up at him from under her lashed, idly slid one finger along the neckline of her tight shirt. His eye tracked the movement.

"I'm sure we can think of…_something_ on top of the caps, don't you?" She lifted the finger, brushing a few stray locks of hair from her eyes, letting them fall back where they had been.

Ahzrukhal took the bait, reaching a cross the bar and tucked the strands behind her ear. "Perhaps," He offered, licking his lips, "we can go somewhere a bit more _private_ to discuss the details of what that might be?" _Sinker. _

Rachel tipped her glass up and drained it, smiling prettily at him, "My thoughts exactly,"

She slid from her barstool as Ahzrukhal grinned; leading her threw a door that led to the room that served as both an office and a bedroom.

Rachel kept her smile in place as he pulled another bottle of scotch out of a cabinet and pulled out the cork, offering it to her. She took it and tipped the bottle up, sipping. She was getting pretty buzzed and knew it was time to start faking.

He grinned; not realizing that she hadn't pulled a second time, only put the bottle to her lips. He took it back when she offered it and he plopped down on the bed, patting the place next to him.

She moved to stand between his legs instead, needing to stay in control of the situation, "Have you settled on some agreeable terms for the contract? I want to make sure I can get back Underworld alive,"

With the thought of having her not just now but the next time she returned planted firmly in his mind he nodded, "Of course my dear, I think a thousand caps and a night with you is more than enough," he chuckled when she laughed softly,

"I'm glad you think my body it worth so much," she moved forward again, leaning toward him and taking his tie in her left hand putting her right hand one his thigh, he leaned back to give her room to come up onto the bed.

Rachel kept her left leg planted on the floor between his knees and slid her right leg up onto the mattress. Ahzrukhal put one hand on her ribs and used the other to balance as he leaned back. _Gotcha you son of a bitch._

Rachel's smile turned predatory and she slid her right hand quickly down her raised leg, slipping up her pant leg and pulling Maria from its holster. In another quick movement she yanked his tie forward and jammed her 9mm into his mouth as he yelped.

He tried to scream curses at her but quieted suddenly she pushed the gun further into his mouth. "Sshhh, you should have just taken my caps," she tsked.

He tried to speak again, the fingers of his free hand digging into her skin while the other one strain to hold him up, he really didn't want to be on his back and at the crazy bitches mercy.

Rachel hushed him again, talking softly, "Now, I'm a reasonable person. But I have a low tolerance for people how keep slaves, hush," Rachel demanded, jerking his tie. "I've been asking around and it seems to me like you treat him little better than a junk yard dog. Now one of two things is going to happen in the next five minutes. You are going to take my thousand caps and tell me where the contract is, or I'm going to shoot you and pick it off your body."

Ahzrukhal looked at her, fear in his wide eyes. "Nod if you understand," he nodded and she kept going. "Was I right in saying it was on your person?" he nodded again.

"Good, is it in your pants pockets?" he didn't move,

"Your jacket?" another nod. Rachel transferred his tie into the fingers holding the gun handle and reached into both outside pockets, next she moved to the inner ones most suit jackets had and she smiled when her fingers touched paper. She drew the folded yellowing sheet out and shook it open, scanning it quickly. It was incredibly faded but Charon's name could be made out at the bottom.

"Very good," keeping the gun in place she tucked the paper into her bra, then reached down, undoing his belt, yanking it free. Now he really looked worried but she rolled her eyes. She yanked his arm out from under him; amazingly the gun didn't leave his mouth as he fell back. She shifted, straddling him and quickly tied his hands together with his own belt, then tied his already bound hands to the rod iron bed frame over his head.

Satisfied that he was stuck she whispered, "I'm leaving now," she dug out her bag of caps and dropped it onto his chest. "Here's you're payment, make any sound all in the next hour and I'll blow head off," she warned, slowly removing Maria. She made a note to give the 9mm a good cleaning later as Ahzrukhal worked his sore jaw.

As Rachel got to her feet he hissed at her softly. "You crazy fucking bitch," and he spat in her direction, missing entirely. She regarded him for a long moment and then nodded, holstering her weapon. "Yeah," she whispered as she stood, flashing him a final dark grin "I am, but I'm okay with it,"

Rachel put her hand on the door knob and twisted, sliding out of the room she purred, "Pleasure doing business with you,"

* * *

**Chapter 10 less than 36 hours later as promised! Thanks for reading, Reviews would be lovely! Oh so very Lovely!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Charon watched as the little red headed smoothskin flirted with his employer. Humans didn't flirt with ghouls, she was up to something. He could feel it but as of yet she hadn't made a threat, and if she had any weapons on her they would have to be a couple boot knives or something similar.

The big ghoul was even more surprised when Ahzrukhal reached out and touched her. Charon steeled himself, ready to move but too his extreme disappointment she made no move hurt the slimy bartender and he settled back against the wall. In fact she seemed to have wanted the touch, and a few moments later they got up together and headed for Ahzrukhal room.

A snort was the only outside reaction to the scene, even as most of the other ghouls in the room stared openly at the now closed door. _Apparently she's insane, _he thought, eyes flicking to a drunken ghoul trying to sneak around the end of the unguarded bar. He gave a loud warning growl and the skinny little drunk froze, head whipping in Charon's direction.

He shrugged away from the damn wall and the thief stood up, inching towards the door babbling, "No no, I'll just show myself out,"

The bigger ghoul took a threatening step toward him, not because he thought the drunk was going to be trouble, but because he thought the way the guy squeaked and ran for everything his scrawny ass was worth was funny.

He settled back against the wall, wondering not for the time tonight when his miserable existence would come to an end. Sixty-nine years was a long fucking time to be stuck against a wall.

The door to Ahzrukhal's room opened, catching the bouncer's attention and the smoothskin slipping out quietly. To give her credit nobody seemed to notice she'd reappeared until she was half way across the room. Her eyes were locked on his and she was grinning like a yao guai who had stolen a picnic basket.

He shifted his stance as she came up to him, standing just a foot away.

"I have some news and I hope-"

"Go talk to Ahzrukhal," he growled, exasperated with her not getting the hint. She just kept talking like he hadn't interrupted her.

"I really hope you think its good news because I bought you're contract," She was watching him carefully, trying to gauge his reaction.

"I'm not longer in Ahzrukhal service?" he asked and she pulled the familiar yellowing paper out of her shirt, showing it to him proudly, "That it good to know, please wait here, there is something I need to take care of,"

Charon went to move past her but she caught is armored arm, pausing he looked down at her. She looked like she was struggling with something, maybe a command to leave the bastard alive,, maybe not, in the end she looked like she changed her mind.

"He's an evil bastard," she whispered quietly instead, "Do what ya gotta do, I'll be in Underworld Outfitters when you're done,"

Charon looked at her for a long time, and then he nodded as he stalked towards the bedroom, and girl left the Ninth Circle. _Insane, that's gotta be it._

* * *

Rachel stretched as she descended the stairs, walking into the shop. The woman who ran it was named Tulip, or at least that's what she'd heard. Rachel unslung her pack and hefted it onto the counter.

"Hi," she greeted the woman, "Would you be interested in doing some trade?"

"Oh yes, of course, it's been so long since I've had a customer!" she exclaimed, leaning against the counter to look in the pack. The friendly shop keeper seemed young and her excited chatter almost blocked out the sound of two gunshots a minute later. Almost.

Tulip straightened and looking in the same direction Rachel was, up in the corner of the ceiling that bordered the Ninth Circle. "wh-? What was that?" the ghoulette murmured more to herself then the human in front of her. They both lessened to the startled voice above, they couldn't make out what was being said exactly but Rachel at least had a pretty good Idea the subject matter was. The door opened and heavy boots descended the stone stairs.

Tulip pulled a loaded shot gun out from behind the counter and couldn't suppress her gasp as the bouncer for The Ninth Circle walked in, a few flecks of blood splattered lightly a crossed his chest.

"Ch- CH- Charon?" the little ghoul squeaked, aiming her gun at him. "What are you doing here?"

Rachel stepped between her new body guard and the terrified woman, gently pushing the gun to the side, "Tulip its fine, you're fine." She soothed, "Charon is with me now."

Tulip locked eyes with the human and then visibly relaxed, setting the gun back down after another minute to stare. While she was collecting herself Rachel turned to the man behind her and smirked, "So, from the racket upstairs I'm guessing you took care of your _business_?"

He nodded, "Yes…yes mistress," he'd stumbled over the proper title for a moment. He'd never have a female employer before, and he'd never had one so young on top of that. Today was turning to more interesting then he'd thought. He wasn't sure whether it was going to be an improvement or not but at least it was something new.

Rachel decided to leave the title issue along for the moment, taking in his old leather armor and lack of anything but the gun on his back. "I don't suppose you have anything else then what on you right now?" She cursed under her breath when he shook his head, and then turned back to Tulip, getting down to business, the traded in all of her salvage and bought Ammo, meds, and food for both of them. Then that was done and added another traveling pack, blanket, some extra rope and as an afterthought she got some squirrel jerky for Claws.

They haggled over the price, and settled on an even six hundred. Reaching to her pant leg she stopped, her ears turning red with embarrassment. Her money was still upstairs; she'd completely forgotten that she'd left it with the man Charon had just killed.

Charon stepped forward, clearing his throat and when Rachel turned he held out a familiar pouch. "Here, you left this upstairs,"

"Oh thank you! I thought I was going to have to go find it," She took her money bag and quickly counted out the six hundred she owed Tulip. It plunged her savings down way past her comfort zone but she'd deal with that later.

Items paid for she stuffed Charon's pack quickly and divided up the ammo accordingly. She handed the sturdy canvas bag over to the ghoul with a smile, a real one. Charon took it hesitantly, he was giving her an odd look. She cocked an eyebrow and his face went back to blank as he hefted the pack over his shoulder.

She wanted to ask why he was looking at her like an arm was growing out of the side of her face but let it slide for now. She'd talk to him later when they were in a more private setting. Charon didn't seem like the kind of person who liked to talk about personal business or his past or really _anything_ when people where around. That was defiantly something she could relate to.

Leaving Tulips shop Rachel stopped so short that Charon bumped into her, he grunted something that might have been an apology but the girl wasn't listening. She was gawking as two men half carried and half dragged and unconscious but very much alive Ahzrukhal down the stairs.

They didn't pay any attention to her or her new companion and she really got a feel for exactly how much people _liked_ the bar owner. There was blood on his face and shoulder but not enough to kill him. It looked like Charon had shot over his should and he caught some of the buckshot.

She turned around and looked up at Charon, his eyes flicking from the people towing Ahzrukhal towards the Chop Shop to astonished her face.

"Yes?"

"You didn't kill him?" she wasn't surprised a lot anymore by the actions of other people but he had defiantly stunned her.

"No," when he didn't offer up anything else she pressed for more information, insanely curious.

"Why not?"

"Didn't seem right,"

"Why?"

"He was tied to his bed, it was not sporting." He explained with a sigh and after a second of thought he added, "I've waited almost seventy years to kill that rat bastard, I'll get him next time I meet up with him,"

She was still looking at him and this time he sighed outright. "Yes?"

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it. I'm tired, let's go get some sleep yeah?"

Charon nodded, he'd been hoping to leave underworld immediately but he didn't say anything. She was his employer and she had not asked for his opinion, it wasn't his place to ask to leave before she was ready.

He would have to take a minute to explain who he was to her, and what his contract covered. She would likely read it but she would have questions, they always had questions. Of course that was going on the assumption that she could read.

As he followed her up the stairs towards Carol's Place he adjusted his new pack, nobody had ever bought anything for him before, not anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Nobody had ever stepped in front of a gun for him either, no matter how minimal the danger was.

He was still deep in thought when Rachel led them into the hotel and she nodded pleasantly at the paling woman behind the counter.

"Smoothskin?" the blonde asked eyes wide as the big man followed her inside.

"What?" she asked, she kept her face confused even though she knew exactly what. "Oh, yeah. I needed a guide, I saw an opportunity and I took it."

The woman pressed her lips together and looked up at the bouncer, clearly not thinking it was a good idea. Charon bristled but kept it his mouth shut, none of his pervious employers had enjoyed his comments, instead he just stood with his arms over his chest returning the woman's gaze.

"Carol," Rachel chimed in, distracting and defusing the ghoulette, as Carol turned back to the girl Charon got another image of The smoothskin stepping between himself and a gun, "In the morning we're headed out so if you'd like to write back to your boy I'll take the letter with me,"

Carol instantly smiled, Rachel having successfully soothed her. Charon was impressed even if he couldn't pin down exactly why. The little smoothskin seemed to be full of surprises and he wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. He liked to be able to predict what his employers were going to do. She seemed to be a dangerous unknown.

Carol led them to a screened off section when his new employer had asked where they should sleep. There were two beds set across from each other and lamp on the floor between them.

Carol had already shut off the main light and had gone to her own bedroom with Greta. Rachel was pleased to see that she and Charon where to only guest in the common room. She dropped her pack down next to the bed against the wall and Charon did the same. Then he just stood there, looking at her.

"What?" She asked, plotting down on the bed,

"What are my orders?" he asked,

"Orders? Um… I don't know, get comfortable I guess and when you get tired get some sleep,"

He nodded "where would you have me sleep?"

Rachel had been in the process of leaning down to remove her boots, she sat back up and this time she was confused, "On the other bed?"

It was more of a question then an answer but he nodded again and sat, bending down to remove his own boots. He stacked them neatly next to the bed and started unclipping his armor. Rachel was right behind him, reaching under her shirt to remove her bra, sliding it off with the long practiced ease along with his contract. She stuffed the cloth in into a boot and finished with removing her belt. She never slept in anything special when she was out.

She settled back, leaning against the wall as she studied the ancient document. All in all she found she hated who ever made it with a fierce, burning passion and from what she had seen he was iron bound to it, without the ability to say _fuck off_.

Rachel read it carefully twice. If she tried to destroy the paper he would have to stop her by any means necessary, including her death. The contract did not cover sexual acts or the mental well-being of his employer. If she imparted major physical damage on him the contract was void. According to the paper he was to protect his employer with at all cost, no matter the danger to himself and follow all orders she gave without question.

Rachel bit her lip as she carefully folded the paper back up, wondering where she should put it to keep it safe. For now she picked up her bra and used her knife to cut a little of the stitching in the right pad, slipping the paper into the lining. Satisfied she tucked it back into her boot and looked up, Charon had been watching her.

"So," she started uncertainly, "That's a pain in the ass document you've got,"

He nodded, eyes flicking to her boot with something like loathing.

"Do you really have to do anything your employer says? That's why you wouldn't talk to me earlier?"

"Yes," her rasped, "Ahzrukhal had instructed me to keep my opinions to myself," he told her and she wondered yet again why he let the slimy bastard live.

"Well fuck that, I'm your employer now so talk whenever you want. In fact do whatever you want. You're a man not a robot and you're allowed to act like it." She told him firmly. "Those are standing orders until I find a way to free you from that piece of shit contract," she gestured towards her boots as she spoke.

"What?" her proclamation had startled him, to his knowledge nobody had ever even thought about freeing him. Hell he didn't even know if was possible, there certainly weren't instruction on the document itself.

"Well I assume I can't just hand it over to you, right?"

"Right,"

"And if I try to destroy it you'll kick my ass, right now I don't really want my ass kicked, so I'm gonna think on that, and don't feel like you have to wait for me to fall asleep before you do. I don't sleep a whole lot," She stretched and cuddled under the blanket, pulling a book out from her pack.

"Neither do I," Charon got into bed too; it had been a long damn time since he gotten to sleep in a bed. It was surprising comfortable considering it was 200 years old. Charon hadn't thought he was tired but he was asleep within minutes.

Rachel's eye flicked from her book to the ghoul as his breath slowed and evened out, she thought about sneaking out to see claws but beat the desire down, if he was going to attach himself to her he needed to lean that she was going to need to spend extended amounts of time in place he just couldn't go.

She read for a while longer and then reached down, stowing the copy of Paradise Lost and killing the light. Tomorrow would be the first time she was going to have to convince somebody not to shoot her bizarre and deadly pet and it was defiantly not going to be the last so practicing a few arguments might be a good idea.

* * *

**So think Charon will accept Claws? Or see him as a danger to his new employer. He defiantly isn't finding too many reasons to think she **_**isn't**_** insane. **

**Reviews for me? Please? =D I do love them so.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Charon snapped his eyes open, confused for a second before he remembered why he wasn't staring at the wall of the bar he'd been condemned to for so many years. He sat up, wiping a hand over his face, his joins cracking pleasantly. The ghoul cracked his neck too and looked over to his employer's bed with a frowned, she wasn't there. He didn't _need_ to have her in sight at all times but he didn't know how she handled herself against potential threats, or her ability to protect herself.

Charon swung his leg over the edge of the bed, pulling on his boots with the intent to look for her. As it turned out he didn't need too, she rounded the corner just as he moved the screen aside. She handed him a bowl of warm InstaMash and sat at an empty table with another bowl for herself.

"Good Morning," her greeting was bright when he sat to joined her.

"Morning Mistress," it wasn't a warm replied but it wasn't cold either so she took it, moving on to the title issue,

"Charon you can call me by my name, or really anything that not so fucking _formal_. I want us to be friends,"

"Friends?" He asked brow wrinkling together slightly, it was a strange concept for her to want that.

Rachel watched his expression and thought she'd offended him somehow, she back peddled quickly, "Friends or comrades or something along those lines, I'm going to watch your back just like you'll be watching mine,"

Charon looked at her, nodding. _Oh right, she's missing a few marbles._ It would be a nice change of pace if she meant what she said, and he believed that she did; right now. He knew it wasn't going to last, she had the best of intention but after two centuries of life he knew how easily humans got distracted, got contempt. For now thought, might as well enjoy it.

"If that is what you wish. As long as you hold my contract, for good or Ill, I serve you."

The smoothskin nodded and seemed to be satisfied. Charon rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, what _is_ your name?"

She started and blushed red, "Oh shit, I never introduced myself. I'm sorry, it's Rachel. Rachel Boone."

He hesitated, searching for the polite response "Well…it's nice to meet to Rachel Boone,"

"You too Charon,"

* * *

After breakfast was finished they both repacked their bags quickly, and headed out. Rachel had already seen Carol, talking only long enough to get her letter and to receive a warm, "Be careful out there sweetie,"

She'd gone back to bed after that and Rachel had made their food on the hotplate Carol had let her barrow. It was still early enough that they didn't see anyone but the robot quietly making its rounds. Rachel was glad she wasn't exactly a morning person. She's been up for two hours already and that how she was awake enough to be friendly with Carol and Charon, probably Willow when they went by, but not strangers.

Charon followed her like a silent shadow, worn boots impossibly quiet on the marble floors as they crossed the final concourse. With the rise in Brotherhood soldiers in the area nobody of any real significance had tried to invade Underworld in a long damn time, it had been almost twelve years since the last time he'd even stepped into this big room, let alone outside.

Rachel pushed open the door and he paused in the threshold, the overcast sky and fog concealed city was almost stunning. He took a deep breath of clean air, cleaner then in the bowels of the ghoul city anyway and the man _nearly_ smiled.

Rachel took a few more steps then turned to him, setting down her bag, "I just remembered, I have a few extra weapons in here I want you to have. Just in case you're shotgun ever doesn't suit the mood,"

Charon nodded with a twinge of gratification that his new employer wasn't going to stack the odds against him, watching him fight to survive for fun. Ahzrukhal certainly hadn't showed him the same kindness. On the way to Underworld their first week together he'd ordered Charon to kill a pair of giant radscorpions, but not before striping away all his extra ammo. The bastard had called it, _A test of your skills_. In the end of it, his ammo long gone, he'd had to use nothing but a combat knife. It was an experience he never wanted again, and had a long scar up his thigh as a reminder.

Rachel held out a semi-auto 10mm and a handful of clips first which he accepted quickly, securing the pistol to is holster belt. After that she passed over a handful of grenades and half of her stimpaks.

"I assume you know how to use a grenade?" she asked, not with any insult though, she was just inquiring.

"Yes Rachel," he tucked them into a pouch on his belt, glancing up as the sentry Willow strolled over to them. She looked him over and then the kid, arching what was left of her eyebrow.

"Yeah?" she asked and Rachel nodded with the ghost of a smile.

"Yeah,"

"Good,"

Charon knew he was missing something and pushed it away to ask about later if he found it to be important. Instead of pondering over it he waited patiently while Rachel talked to the sentry, slapping a cigarette pack into the ghoulette's hand.

"I only smoke in settlements, or maybe after a really long day. I like to keep all my senses clear out in the wasteland," she explained and willow grinned, tucking the pack into her leather jacket.

"Smart little smoothskin, aren't you,"

Rachel nodded cockily, "That's how I've stayed alive all these years,"

Willow laughed saluting to them both as Rachel started edging away from underworld, "Hey, watch your backs out there, both of you,"

"Always," Rachel gave a half-assed salute of her own, turning on her heel to head back out into the world.

* * *

Rachel lead the way along the walls of the decrepited and mostly uninhabited buildings, keeping to the shadows in case anything unpleasant skulked in the early morning fog. They slid into the square that held one of the metro stations when she stopped, turning to him.

"Hey, um," she reached up to tug on the long red lock of hair hanging along the side of her face. He raised an eyebrow, not sure how to handle this new timid side of her.

"Yes," he prodded when she didn't start talking again.

"Well, you're not the first unusually dangerous companion I've picked up here in the Capital Wasteland, and I want to give you a fair warning because we're about to pick him up," Rachel bit the inside of her lower lip, looking up at him like she was a child about to be in trouble.

"It can't be _that_ bad Rachel, who is he? Some kind of Ex Talon Company? Raider?, I am sure who ever it is, I've had to travel with a lot worse," He tried to assure her, she did appear to want him happy but it wasn't his say who else she picked up, not as long as she wasn't in direct danger.

"Yeah," she muttered, "We'll see, will you wait here of the minute? Just please don't shoot him," she half pleaded and he nodded, accepting the request as an indirect order.

Rachel sighed and turned, walking the last ten feet to the dumpster and snapping her fingers twice as she called his name softly. She was relieved to her the patter of clawed feet, glad he was still safely tucked inside. She lifted the lid and blanched, the stink from inside had punched her in the face, he'd done his business in the corner thought thankfully hadn't rolled in it or anything similarly gross.

Holding her breath she reached inside, getting a cheerful gurgle as she picked him up, cradling Claws in her arms and she turned so the ghoul to see little friend. Originally she'd been planning on putting the deathclaw down while she explained, but the sharp gasp, the way his hand flew to his shotgun and his wide eyes told her no way in hell was that a good idea.

The hard skin left on the ghouls face went as pale as it could when she'd turned around, the widely agreed most dangerous creature in the wasteland cradled in her arms like an infant. He held his breath for a full thirty seconds as he fought the urge to rip the deathclaw from her arms and put a buckshot in its brain. She'd ordered him not to shoot it and it wasn't attacking, yet. Charon tightened his grip on his combat shotgun and swallowed thickly, keeping his voice steady by sheer force of will.

"What is that," he asked slowly, it was the only think he could think of that wasn't mostly questioning her intelligence.

Rachel knew exactly what his was asking but she was half panicked that he was going to shoot her pet anyway, she looked down at Claws and back up to the ghoul, "A deathclaw,"

Charon gritted his teeth so hard they hurt, "Y-yes, I see that, Mistre- _Rachel_, I have standing orders to speak freely?"

Rachel gulped, it would be so easy to say no, too order him to deal with it and avoid what she knew was going to shouting match. She knew couldn't do that to him though, she'd promised herself she wasn't going to use that power over him, she never wanted to be that kind of person. So after a moment she nodded slowly. _Better to let him get it all out now._

Permission granted Charon sucked in a breath, his snarl making both the girl and her _deathtrap_ flinch, "What the hell is wrong with you? Where did you even get that damn thing? Deathclaw aren't pets, they're killers!"

Rachel refused to meet his eyes, "He isn't either, he's already saved my ass once when I was down in the metro,"

"How the hell aren't you dead, what are you 18? And not enough common sense to fucking run when you see one of these thing?"

Rachel bristled, Claws feeling her stiffen and growling in Charon's direction while pressing herself tightly against the human holding him. "I'm twenty-two, and I _did_ walk away, he _followed_ me!"

"It _hunted_ you, and even if it didn't, it's mother sure as hell is!" He yelled, glancing around like he expected the Mother Deathclaw to appear.

"No, she's dead," The fiery red head told him firmly, explaining in a rush about the raiders and the massacre and her theory about why the runt had survived. "He was just looking at me, so I tossed him some mole rat and went on my merry fuckin' way."

"You fed it! Why?" the ghoul demanded, and Rachel looked down at the ground, suddenly defused as she pouted softly, scuffing her boot against the concrete.

"I don't know," the hurt in her voice dosed his anger like cold water on a campfire, leaving him irritated and guilty that he'd, _justifiably_, yelled at her. He didn't like the emotion. "He just looked so scrawny, and you know what life is like out here, I figured I'd feed him once and give him one more day before the wasteland got him,"

Charon grumbled and then sighed, defeated. Despite the yelling the thing hadn't made a move to attack either of them and they weren't going anywhere by arguing and it wasn't like he could leave her to her doom. In the end he was going to have to tolerate it. _Oh you are so very, very crazy_, he thought, saying, "Fine, keep it, when it kills us in our sleep I'm to use my dying breath to say I fucking _told_ you so,"

Rachel giggled, the sound blurting from her lips, it sounded chocked, like she didn't do it a lot. He looked down at the deathclaw as she wiped what he told himself was an eyelash out of her eye. "Fair enough,"

Charon rubbed a big hand over his face and the back of his neck, "So, since you're _blatantly_ batshit insane, I assume you fucking named it,"

She nodded, shifting her arms and holding the little killer out at arm's length, "Yeah, His name is Claws,"

Charon snorted as she put it down, watching it sniff her and the ground around her. It kept one eye on him but didn't approach, "At least you didn't name it fucking fluffy or some shit,"

Rachel tsked at the absurd name, fetching the bowl and blanket, stuffing them in half full pack. Fluffy didn't make any sense at all, "I've only ever seen one thing in the wastes that I would call fluffy, and it was in the height of summer in the Mojave. A rancher had cut most of the hair off his bighorners and the short hair was positively fuzzy."

Charon wasn't sure what a bigghorner was but before her could ask she spoke again, "Hey, do you know where a building called GNR is? I have an errand to run over there,"

* * *

**Thank you for the piping hot bowls of review I've gotten so far, It's great to know you guys are enjoying my stuff and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter too!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The route to GNR was uneventful. A handful of scattered raiders in the stuffy tunnels and a few hours brought them the plaza that held the radio station. It was only midmorning when they three of them walked through the shell of a pre-war elementary school. That's were Rachel stopped them, turning to crouch in front of Claws.

"Okay, you need to hide," told him and he cocked his head, looking at her with black eyes.

Charon rolled his eyes behind her back; she was talking to a deathclaw and expecting it to understand. Not only that they were about to waltz into the Brotherhood territory and if those metal suited bastards saw Rachel walking towards them with a ghoul and a deathclaw they were going to open fire, no questions asked. "Rachel? If you're going to start giving it-_him_ commands you're going to have to train him first,"

She looked up, feeling stupid because he was right. She also knew it was a bad idea to approach the heavily guard building with both her companions visible, she had to find a way to conceal Claws. The beast was looking at her, unsure why she was making sounds. He butted the flat top of his head against her knee and she laughed softly. "Okay, here,"

She unslung her pack, flipping the lid up and adjusting the things inside. Dangerous, explosive and sharp things on the bottom and her spare clothes and her blanket on top. Rachel patted the inside and he was all too happy to scramble inside. "If you shit in there I'll skin you," she warned sternly, closing the flap when he curled into a ball.

Carefully she replaced her pack on her shoulders, and smirked at the incredulous look ghoul was shooting in her direction. "What?"

Charon had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was trying to calculate how long until the Brotherhood discovered her insane pet and opened fire. He might not even have to wait till then to be killed today; they never could seem to tell the difference from intelligent, sentient ghouls and the feral hoards that roamed the metros.

"What's on your mind tall, dark and brooding?" she asked, he wasn't sure what to think of the nickname but he told her about the bigots they were about to meet. She looked in the brotherhoods direction and then back at him, that cocky little smirk still in place.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," She slipped off her NCR beret while she talked, she didn't know what this faction of the Brotherhood thought about NCR but she wanted things to go as smoothly as possible. She stuffed it in a pocket and cracked her neck. "Let's go,"

They stepped into the courtyard and five lazar rifles trained on them, both she and Charon had their hands up, well away from the comfort of their own weapons.

"State your business at GNR," one of the Power Armor suits called out, it sounded male. Rachel smiled at them, putting a little swing in her hips, Charon kept his face blank but inwardly he smirked, it was the opening of the same game she'd played with to get his contract. The girl defiantly used her appearance to her advantage. Even now in plain wasteland clothes covered in shabby combat armor she turned every head in front of them.

"I'm a Courier," she called in a voice that was inviting and smooth, "bring a message to a guy named Three Dog, is this GNR?" They knew it was GNR but asking if they were in the right place put the sentries at ease, lowering their weapons. She and Charon were allowed approached after a moment of conversation between the men. The man who had spoken first stepped forward, offering the girl his hand.

"Paladin Jefferson, Miss?"

"Rachel," she answered with that same coy smile, accepting the hand shake delicatly. The man did not offer his hand to the ghoul but neither Charon nor the Rachel show sign that they'd noticed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Three Dog in inside, up the stairs, the door in the middle."

"Thank you," she purred, looking up at Jefferson with big innocent eyes "It's so nice to see gentlemen in this this harsh world,"

Charon was pretty sure the guy was blushing; there was defiantly a stammer in his voice under the helmet. He also thought the man was a fool. Nobody could make it this far into DC even now that most of the super mutants were gone by being innocent.

"W-why, thank you miss, but I'm afraid you can't bring you're zombie inside, don't worry though, we'll keep him out of trouble for you," He said it like he was doing the pretty woman a favor and Charon saw her eyes go hard for a split second before shifting into something like amusement.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question, He's my body guard and _Charon_ can't exactly guard my body if he isn't in sight now, can he?" she purred the words and somehow managed to put the authority of a sentinel behind them same time.

"I understand Miss Rachel but Protocol is-"

Rachel cut him off with a pout, "I really need him to stay with me, oh!" she smiled like she'd just had a wonderful idea, "maybe Three Dog could come out here, I'll deliver the message and be on my way,"

Charon watched his mistress work with a kind of awe that he would never _ever_ admit too. She was wrapping Paladin Jefferson around her little finger, the man certainly didn't want Three Dog to come outside. Finally, after some stuttering he nodded and told them to wait. He went over to the intercom, having a quick conversation with whoever was on the other side and then waved them up.

When they walked through the lower part of the building people watched them but didn't make any comments. They climbed the stairs and when he was sure nobody could hear them he leaned down, whispering in his employer's ear. "Smooth, lucky they didn't search you though."

She chucked and turned her head to whisper back, "That might have been trouble but I don't know, Paladin Jefferson seems _all_ too happy to accommodate me,"

Charon felt like he might want to laugh but he didn't. There was a goofy looking guy standing at the top of the second staircase they'd just found and he'd be _Damned_ if some strange smoothskin asshole caught him chuckling. Instead he followed her closely up a second set of stairs.

The guy, who they both assumed was Three Dog, opened his mouth and they didn't have to assume anymore, the guy was unmistakable.

"I know what you're thinking," he said with what Charon found was an irritating grin. "You're thinking who the hell is this guy? And why should I care?"

Rachel cut him off, sure that there was a lot more to his speech and wanting to move things along so they could get out of there and let Claws out of her bag. He was being surprisingly still, or at least he was until the African American man with the sunglasses started talking.

"Three Dog, You're voice isn't something that can be mistaken if you've spent more than a few hours in the capital wasteland,"

Three Dog laughed and Claws shifted again in her pack, with a sudden dawning she realized that yesterday and today when they'd stopped to rest She'd turned on the radio and fed Claws. She was suddenly ninety percent sure that Claws was associating this man's voice with food. _Fuck_.

"So what brings a smart girl like you to my humble little radio station?" he asked, as he'd talked Charon had inconspicuously shifted forward, rest a big hand on top of her pack. Thankfully Claws settled down as Rachel spoke with the food man.

"I have a message for you from a woman I met on the road, Said if I ever met you to pass it on. Since I was in the area I figured it wouldn't be too much trouble to pop in,"

Three Dog ushered them both in and gestured to a table and chairs set up in his studio. Rachel gently set her bag down, swiftly securing the flap in an effort to get claws to stay put. Part of her was annoyed that he wanted to chat, and the other part was happy his was being nice to Charon.

Rachel sat politely and when he gestured for her ghoul to sit as well the bodyguard shook his head, "Rather stand," he growled and Three Dog shrugged, turning his attention back the girl.

"So, what do you have to tell old Three Dog?" he asked with a grin as cocky as the one Rachel liked to put on.

"It was about two weeks ago, she said to let you know 101's heading west," Rachel blinked, it still didn't make any sense to her but Charon grunted and Three Dog leaned back in his chair looking a little stunned.

"Whooo weee, I thought the kid had finally kicked it out there, glad to know she's still alive. Little miss 101 left though huh? Can't say I blame her," He thought for a long moment and then looked up at Rachel's lack of emotion. "You don't know who you bumped into, do you?" he asked but it wasn't unkind so she shook her head.

"Little miss 101, The Savior of the Waste, The Lone Wanderer. She crawled out of a vault to look for her farther, James. He was a scientist who thought up something called Project Purity. Well eventually she found him, but he died protecting the project from the Enclave. Finished what he'd started and got pretty banged up in the process. People aren't really sure how she survived. But when she woke up she was good as new.

After that I know she wandered for a long time, we got reports every couple weeks about some new, generous thing she'd done for settlers all over the place.

The last month we hadn't heard anything, and I was starting to wonder if maybe her luck had finally ran out,"

Rachel had listened with wide eyes, wishing she'd know who the woman was when they'd met. Then again the Lone Wanderer hadn't even given her a name, and if she was heading west instead of staying in a place where people worshiped the ground she spit on then it was a good bet she didn't want to be fawned over. When Rachel said as much Three Dog laughed.

"You're right, she did a lot of good here but some people don't take kindly to that. I know the Slavers had a price on her head, she kept attacking their caravans. After everything that happened, there were a lot of painful reminders here too, Hope she finds what she's looking for, a fresh start or whatever,"

Rachel nodded and stood, "Well we really need to get going, we've got a walk ahead of us,"

Three Dog stood too, "Hey let me throw you a few caps, my children will be glad to hear 101s not deep sixed,"

Rachel nodded again; glad to be paid for her efforts, of course now she didn't have any work lined up. Maybe she should ask the DJ about where the major settlements were. In the end she decided against it, she'd ask Charon later, right now she just wanted to get back to Megaton. She was going to visit Gob and Nova and resupply. The crazy woman Moira probably had a few errands to run, and she could sell off her scrap metal to Walter.

Rachel was snapped out of her thoughts by Charon's warning growl. She glanced up at him and then down to where his eyes were glaring. Claw was standing by her legs, niffing the floor. It was at that particular second Three Dog turned around, caps in hand. The man froze, Rachel watched his mouth open to yell like everything around her was in slow motion and without a clear thought about what she was doing she lunged at him.

Rachel's smaller body slammed into him, taking them both to the floor with her hand slapped over his mouth. Claws, excited by the sudden movement tried to go the skitter to the people on the floor but Charon swung his leg out, hook the deathclaw with the top of his boot and yanking him back. Then he stepped light on the things tail to keep it in one place. "No," he growled and Claws looked at him as he crouched down indignantly and looked away from the ghoul.

Rachel had Three Dog pinned to the floor and she spoke quickly, tremendously aware that the crash as they hit the floor was going to attract somebody in power armor. "Shhh, sh, He won't hurt _you_ unless you hurt _me_, you're _fine_. His Name is Claws,"

Three Dog watched her with wide eyes for a few seconds and then sighed, or he tried to with the girl hand still planted firmly over his mouth. Rachel watched him settle down, and slowly peeled her hand away.

"Is that a…a," he stammered around the word.

"Deathclaw," she nodded, "I'm sorry, usually when I tell him to stay put he does. I think he got out because when we stop to eat I turn on GNR,"

"So…_he_…thought it was meal time," he asked slowly, eyes now glued on her strange pet. Rachel was impressed by the Dj, he was taking the bombshell of Claws surprisingly well. She really had actually expected him to shout for help, or look a horrified or something. Instead he was looking at Claws with a mix of curiosity and fascination.

Rachel let the man up, moving back towards Charon, and with a nod from his mistress he released Claws's tail. He was as surprised as she was that they weren't in a fire fight with the brotherhood right now.

As if on cue somebody knocked on the door, "Three Dog? Everything alright? Heard a crash down stairs,"

"Fine," he called back without missing a beat," Rachel let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Ol' Three Dog tripped over a chair," the sound of retreating boots was the only response he got from the solider but none of them cared.

Claws skittered to the man, stopping three feet away and looking up at him expectantly, as the source of _The Voice_ this man was sure to have food.

Three Dog laughed and dug in the pocket of her shirt, pulling out some kind of jerky that Rachel couldn't identify on sight. He looked at the strange courier first, "I can feed him right?"

"Sure, it'll be that much more_ I_ don't have to feed him,"

He broke off a piece and tossed it, all three of them twitching as Claws sprang up the full length of his powerful legs, snapping the dried meat out of the air.

Three Dog tossed another piece, higher this time. Claws leapt into the air, his aim impeccable as the meat was snapped from midair. He munched and swallowed and Three Dog laughed. Claws liked this sound, _She_ made that sound sometimes and it meant happiness.

He darted forward, butting his head against Three Dog's shin with a happy little gurgle. The man laughed and reached down, hesitated and then scratched the top of the deathclaws head. Claws pressed his head in the direction of the fingers, mouth open and tongue lolling out one side.

"Well I'll be damned," he murmured in disbelief, moving under the little guys chin. The DJ stood, looking at the two people who'd been watching him. "A year ago I wouldn't ask, I would just do it, but 101and I had a rather heated discussion in which I learned that on more than one occasion I'd lead her enemies' right to her. So now I'm asking, can I tell the whole wasteland about this?"

Charon shifted his weight from the right to the left side, a barely audible growl rumbling deep in his chest. Rachel could tell he wanted to say something and she also knew that right now he wouldn't interfere with something that was her decision.

She knew she should say no. there was no telling how people would react to the knowledge that somebody had a deathclaw at their side. Factions might try to hunt them, people might fire on them. Of course those things would very likely happen anyway.

She took a deep breath, meeting the Dj's eyes. "Fine, but if I hear my name, his name," she jerked her thumb back a Charon, "or a description of either of us on the radio I'm going to come back here and beat you until you forget us," her voice was low, her threat clear. Three Dog nodded and swallowed.

"One more thing," if you do hear that we did something, and you feel the driving need to share it with the world, I want you to wait at least two weeks. That way we'll be long gone before anybody know where we've been," She kept her eyes on his, only letting him look away after he'd agreed. She could practically feel Charon's annoyance pulsing off him and into her back.

After that they left, Rachel had Claws tucked back into her bag. This time she'd tied the flap closed instead of just tucking it down. She didn't feel like getting shot in the back because her pet got curious again.

The Brotherhood guys waved as they pasted, and when they were out of sight Charon cleared his throat, Rachel didn't stop walking but she turned her head to listen. "Do you think that was wise?"

Rachel sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck, "Probably not,"

* * *

**When I woke up this morning I had 1,015 hits! Thank you everyone who's been following this story, whether it's on your alert list or not, weather you've reviewed or not, I love you all!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Snarling in frustration Rachel dove for the closest semblance of cover, bullets flying everywhere. Ten minutes ago they'd stepped out of the Farragut West metro tunnel and into a raider party, there were a dozen of them at least and they hadn't been nearly at surprised as she had.

Charon had been her saving grace, shoving her back down the stairs before firing on the Raiders. Rachel had recovered quickly, cursing loudly. She was embarrassed at being caught off guard during her first fight with the ghoul. She pushed the feelings away to deal with later.

Now her back was pressed against one on the pillars that marked the entrance to the tunnels, Charon occupied the other and she had no idea where her deathclaw was. Both packs were still in the stairwell, they'd both dropped the heavy bags in favor of maneuverability but Claws had been walking the last time she'd seen him.

"Why the _fuck_ are there so fucking many!," She snarled again, firing awkwardly from her slim cover.

Charon snarled an insult of his own at their enemies and fired, darting to take cover by a car while Rachel provided cover fire. He seemed enthralled, it was the first time she'd seem him excited and it was almost frightening. Charon was a killer. The bodies littering the ground before them proved he was a good one.

Two more raiders dropped, they were defiantly making a dent in the bastards. Rachel took a deep breath, darting around her pillar to take a position next to Charon. The raiders were moving in, chem crazed and identifying easy prey, the two were pinned down and outnumbered.

Charon moved around the edge of the old vehicle, firing around a headlight and Rachel fired over the trunk. The smell of smoke sent a tremor of fear down her spine and then she saw the flames break out in front of her.

"_Shit_, Charon!"

He didn't seem to be able hear her over the guns and yelling. Rachel moved, throwing herself across the distance, while keeping her head out of enemy crosshairs. She flung her arms around his bicep and hauled, pulling him off balance. Over the roar in her ears she heard his infuriated yell, "-the fuck,"

Rachel tossed her head back towards the growing flame, eyes wide with panic as she hauled him back. Rachel slid in front of him, put her hands on his chest she shoved him towards the stairs to the riverbank. They had seconds, maybe. "Run you asshole!'

His own eye widening as he saw the flaming car, he staggered back, reaching out like he intended to pull her along with him. Heart hammering too hard in her chest to think clearly she shoved again, his boots hitting the concert barrier and Charon fell backward over the wall. The earth rocked the force of the explosion. Rachel was thrown from the concrete, she felt the heat on her back, the itchy tingle of the radiation and the rush of the air she was flying threw.

* * *

Charon swore, flat on his back as his employer was flung threw the air over him with the force of the explosion. He rolled, getting on his feet and searching for where his mistress had landed. His eyes landed on a flash of red hair and angry gurgles from the middle of the river. He didn't hear anything from above; the explosion must have finished off the rest of the raiders.

Water flew through the air as he hurried to reach the red head struggling to keep her head above water. He got a hand on the back of her leather armor and tugged her back. As soon as his feet could touch bottom he scooped her up, carrying the sopping, swearing girl back to shore.

"Are you alright?" He asked, checking her over, if she was hurt in any way he knew it would be his fault.

"Fuck the water!" she barked, shivering slightly. "Are we safe?"

Charon set her down on a rock and climbed back up the stairs to check. When he didn't see anybody immediately he swept the area, just in case a raider or two had been smart enough to hide. After the area was dubbed all clear her grabbed their packs and returned to his employer.

"Hey, you found Claws!" Rachel sounded a lot happier then she should have been and it put him on edge.

"He was on top of our packs," He rasped softly, "a couple dead raiders with half eaten throats down where they were too. Looks like they were trying to steal 'em,"

Claw butted his head against Rachel's out stretched hand, she cooed to the beast for a moment and looked up with a sigh. Charon braced himself, here it comes. The end of the vacation she'd given him. He didn't blame her though, he'd let her down.

"Charon I'm so sorry, I should have never put us in that kind of danger, I guess I got cocky and I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have been," Her eye were fixed on his wet boots. His eyes were fixed on her.

"I failed to protect you, you should punish me Mistress, not give an apology. You should have left me there and saved yourself," His words were firm, like it was unheard of that she'd done more than say her own skin. It was infuriating.

"Like hell, your life is just as important as mine," She snapped, and when he looked unconvinced she softened. It wasn't his fault; it was the faults of his previous employers and the people who had bound him to the contract hidden safely in the lining of her NCR beret. "Charon you and I, We're partners. I'm not like your other employers, and that I'm promising you right now. I'm not looking for a slave boy or a puppy. I've already got a robot butler and a deathclaw pup so those positions are filled," Rachel met his foggy blue eyes, holding him the way she'd held onto Three Dog. "I know it's stupid to trust someone so easily, but even though we've only been together a couple days I consider you a friend. Okay? And friends don't let friends explode,"

Charon was taken aback, but he nodded slowly. It was still strange that she wanted to be friends but it seemed a lot more possible now somehow. He watched her reach for her pack and his ever sharp eyes caught the small wince on her face.

"Rachel? You alright?"

"I'm fine, let's get the fuck outta' here. It's only like… two hour to Megaton and I fucking hate wet boots," She stood, flipping her red beret onto her head. Rachel got a small sense of appreciation that it had been in her pack instead of on her person when she'd nearly drown a few minutes ago.

Charon kept his eyes on her, and he raised both eyebrow ridges when she hoisted her pack and stiffened a yelp. Charon could see her jaw clench and her shoulders were trembling.

"Shit, Rachel you're not fine," he took a couple steps towards the difficult little smoothskin and she retreated. She was pale, he realized. Too pale and her shakes where getting worse. "Let me see the damage I caused,"

"It's nothing, it's not your fault, I'll be okay until we get to Megaton," she urged, but he noticed she had one arm behind her back, hefting some of her packs weight away from her spine.

"_Yeah_," he drawled sarcastically, "And my ass is a smooth as a new born baby,"

Rachel snorted and then sighed when he just glared at her, "_Fine_, I'm pretty sure my armor got scorched and I hit the bottom of the river when I went down, got gravel into whatever _minor_ burn or scraps I picked up during the fight. I'm gonna have to have it all dug out before I can use a stimpak but we're losing daylight. I'll go find a doctor as soon as we get home, happy?"

"Almost, let me carry your pack too, I don't want you to grind gravel in any deeper or pass out half way there," He really didn't want the most decent employer he'd ever had to die before the week was out. That would be fucking embarrassing.

Rachel bit her lower lip, something he'd noticed she did a lot when she was considering something. Then she shrugged off her bag and handed it to her ghoul companion with only a small wince to show the movement had hurt her.

Charon now had a pack slung over each shoulder and while it was a little awkward the relieved sigh Rachel let slip made the extra uneven weight well worth it. She was something else. They crossed the river carefully and headed in the direction of Megaton.

Forty-five minutes into the walk Charon had talked Rachel into using her only Med-x dose and while she complained it was gratifying when the smoothskins breath went from ragged and pain riddled to shallow and determined.

Charon caught himself thinking that it was a good thing she was batshit insane, most people would have demanded they stay and take care of the wounds right then, not willing to endure the pain or risk of infection even though that whole area was crawling with mutants and raiders. The last thing they would have needed was another gun fight half way through picking gravel out of her flesh. Of course, she said the wounds weren't that bad. Of course, the ghoul was confident she was lying.

* * *

The red head was dead on her feet when Stockholm shouted out a_ who goes there?_

She waved up at him, calling back unenthusiastically "Hey, it's me, open the damn door,"

Stockholm waved back but didn't pressed the button right away, "Holy Fuck kid, who's that with you, he's gotta' the _biggest_ damn ghoul I've ever seen,"

She scowled; her back was in agony and she felt like her body was on fire. "This is Charon, we're in Fucking love. My Med-x is warring off so open this fucking gate or I'm coming up there and beating you with your own helmet!"

Stockholm laughed and hit the switch, calling back down to her as the gate grinded up, "I'm sorry kid, just teasin' you, go get patched up,"

Rachel gave the sentry her half assed salute and shuffled into town, leading the way stiffly to her house. She unlocked the door, took four steps inside and fell to her knees in a slow motion. She growled, sliding the rest of her body flat on the floor. Wadsworth putted down the stairs, sputtering, "Miss Rachel, might I suggest you seek medical attention immediately,"

She waved a hand noncommittally, "Wadsworth, this is Charon; he's going to be living here too okay. Don't attack him or Claws," Charon started when he was reminded of the deathclaw. He set the bags down as he kicked the door closed and unbuckled the flap so Claws could get out. The deathclaw shook and slunk close to his mistress, licking her cheek.

"Rachel," Charon stood near the door, unsure if he should move her to her bed or treat her there on the floor.

"Charon, I feel hot," she mumbled into the floor. The ghoul cursed, the bed would defiantly be better. He stepped up and kneeled next to her, "Rachel I need you to get up, I can patch you up more efficiently if you weren't on the floor,"

She turned her head slowly, "You? Oh good, I hear Doc church doesn't do house calls and I don't fucking want to walk all the way over there,"

Charon got her on her feet as slowly and painlessly as possibly. Up the stair they went and then into the little bedroom. She pitched forward onto the mattress with a groan. Charon positioned her as gently as he could manage and pulled off her still soaked boots and socks. The next thing that came off was her plated leather armored leggings. He was surprised to find what could be the smallest little pistol he'd ever seen strapped to her right calf.

He flicked the sheet over her bare legs after the gun and its holster came off and turned to her upper half. Very carefully he tugged the leather armored vest free. She cried out once, muffling the sound with a lumpy pillow as he peeled a melt ring that hand melted into a few layers of skin on her shoulder.

Charon swore when he finally got to her under shirt and bra. The fabric of the shirt was beyond ruined. It looked like it had half melted. The once white cloth had yellowed and turned brittle, the fibbers that were left stuck to her blistered skin. He ended up cutting the stiff shirt to save her the pain of pulling it over her head. He cut the black bra too because the metal hooks had fused together.

If it had been under different circumstances had would have enjoyed cutting away the clothes of a women as attractive as Rachel, but right now he just felt guilty. He wouldn't be doing this at all if he had seen the damn car catch fire, if he'd been trying to move her instead of her moving him.

"Christ Rachel," he growled under his breath, dirt and gravel peppered her blistered and peeling skin. In a couple places where metal touched skin the wounds oozed. Gravel was embedded into those wounds too.

"Robot," he barked over his shoulder, "get whatever med supplies you have,"

"Right away sir," he told the ghoul, returning a minute later with a first aid kit. He gave a silent thanks to whatever gods the radiation hadn't killed off when he found three more Med-x doses inside.

Charon gave her two of the shots, and then started the long process of picking out the gravel with a pair of tweezers he'd sterilized with the bottle of vodka that was tucked in the kit. He gave another silent thanks when the girl passed out; the process was a lot easier on both of them after she fell unconscious.

It took a good two hours to clean and disinfect her wounds, the satisfying sizzle of peroxide as it burned off the germs said loudly why she'd felt so hot. Finally Charon applied three stimpaks in different places on her back and wrapped her in clean bandages.

Charon felt a bump on his ankle and looked down, the deathclaw looked back at him and then at the bed.

"No, leave her alone," he rasped as softly as he could manage.

Two minutes later he sighed, irritated. He'd watched the deathclaw make several failed attempts to jump up next to the sleeping girl. Charon picked him up, deciding it was better to let the beast get his away instead of him waking Rachel up in his attempts. The ghoul set him on the inside of her legs and growled, "Come get me if she wakes up,"

He didn't expect it to understand him but he wanted to say something before he left the room, leaving a two inch crack in the door so he could hear if she started to trash around. In the morning he'd have to go restock the med supplies, right now he had to change.

The ghoul striped off his damp cloths, using a shirt to pat dry the worst of the water logged patches of his skin, hopping none of what was left fell off. That done he pulled on dry cargos and a black shirt. He sighed, he wouldn't sleep while she was wounded and defenseless upstairs.

He didn't want to sit in her room and watch over her like a creeper all night either and without orders he felt a little lost. Charon looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. It was a decent sized house; she'd been lucky in receiving it.

The first thing he did was quietly take both his and his employers wet clothes back upstairs, hanging them over the railings. He hung their armor too, and unlaced their boot, exposing as much the interior as possible. He hated wet boots too.

He had Rachel's tiny gun in his ruined hand, having set it in the pile along with her cloths. He settled onto the floor downstairs, both the traveling bags within reach, and he started on her pistol first, methodically taking the weapon apart, wiping the water and grim away from the inner working. He reached for her rifle when was the pistol was done, cleaning it just as thoroughly.

His mind wander as he worked, shaking his head with irritation at both himself and the girl. He remember the way she'd yanked him desperately away from the car, how she'd refused to leaving him outside with the armored asshole at GNR, and the way she'd stepped in front of Tulips gun. She seemed to be protection him a lot more enthusiastically than he was protecting her and the thought didn't sit well. Why would she bother?

He snorted, because he already knew the answer, "_Because she's batshit insane,"_

* * *

**Chapter 14, fin.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Why the fuck am I on fire_? It was the first conscious thought Rachel had. It was hard to breathe, she noticed, her chest felt too heavy. Her back burned and her muscles ached. Rachel shifted and hissed softly through her teeth. It was forearm this time that complained. Her eyes flew open and flicked down to identify the cause of this new pain.

Claws lifted his head with a heavy exhale and licked the shallow lines of blood the welled up on her wounded forearm. She'd her arm draped over her chest in her sleep and he'd draped himself over her. When she'd moved he'd given her a light scratch.

The deathclaw looked up at her as she propped herself up on her elbow, wincing as a much larger ache spread over her back. Claw snorted and got off of her when the bleeding stopped. She sleepily scratched his head, rubbing her thumb over one of the bumps that would someday be horns. The deathclaw stretching idly and then he jump to the floor with a thump that was really too quiet given his size.

He left the room and the girl frowned looking after him. Her frown deepened when she sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist, her bra was gone. Rachel rubbed her eyes and pushed the rest of the sheet away, she wasn't exactly happy to find herself dressed in only panties and bandages. She thought hard about how she'd ended up at this point. She remember the flaming car, being thrown, Charon pulling her from the water…telling Stockholm she and Charon were in love? _That can't be right_. Other than a few feverish memories in between she didn't remember a whole lot past almost drowning.

A growl from somewhere else in the house pulled her from her thoughts, "What?" his voice sounded irritated and sharp, "What do you want? You better hope she lives because I'm not fucking feeding you shit,"

Rachel heard Claws give and annoyed squeak and she rolled her eyes, her companions seemed to antagonize each other whenever the opportunity presented itself. Some poor chemmed up junkie was going to see them one of these days and take it as a sign of the second coming apocalypse.

"Charon," she called through the house, glad her voice still had its volume, "Where the fuck's my bra?"

There was a pause, and then, "She's awake? Why didn't you come get me?"

Another outraged squawk from Claws and she heard the ghouls heavy footsteps on the stairs. Rachel was sitting on the edge of the bed when Charon entered the room, the sheet wrapped around her waist. She had pulled open a filling cabinet drawer and was pawing through it.

"Feel better?" he asked, curt and somehow concerned at the same time.

"I will be as soon as I find some god damned pants," she growled without looking up, Rachel slammed closed the drawer and opened the one under it.

"You should stay in bed today," he growled at her, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't comfortable telling his employer what to do but she didn't seem like a woman who stayed in one place. "Let me check you back and then you can go back to sleep,"

"Where the hell are you hiding?" she muttered, ignoring him completely. "Here pants, come to Rachel,"

Charon stared at her, wondering if she'd hit her head in the explosion somehow, "and when you wake you I'll take you over to the local doctor," he added, a head injury was outside his area of medical expertise.

"There you are!" she pulled her only other pair of pants out of the drawer, finally speaking to the ghoul as she shook them out.

"I don't need to go see anyone else, and I'm _not_ staying in be-" she looked up at him and chocked on her own sentence. Clad in nothing but black cargos that fit him like they were tailored and the thread bare black T-shirt that was a size or two too small. It was stretched so tightly over his muscled torso Rachel didn't need imagination to fill in that spectacular chest.

Charon watched her eyes drift all the way down to his bare feet. The ghoul shifted uncomfortably, if he was still human he would have thought she was checking him out. But now he knew better than to think like that, to think of her like that and even that she liked what she saw. He couldn't afford to let himself start to think of the girl as anything other than a job. She was his employer for Christ's sake. "What?"

His snarled question snapped Rachel out of her appreciation. "Oh, sorry. I- I, How long was I out?"

It was lame, she knew it. But she couldn't admit she'd been appraising his scalped muscle, the man was _Built_. He probably knew what she'd been doing anyway; it wasn't like she'd been discreet.

"All night," he told her and she relaxed, at least he wasn't mad that she'd ogled him like a cut of choice Brahmin. "It's about three hours past dawn,"

"Alright," Rachel stretched, wincing when her back pulled uncomfortably. "Let me get dressed and then we'll go find some food," she told him and he nodded, closing the door behind him as he left.

Rachel carefully got to her feet, her balance seemed fine and her morning drunk was wearing off, making clear thought process possible. She hadn't slept so long in years, it was making her more groggy than usual. Rachel had never been a morning person but on a normal day she could wake up and manage speech without getting distracted by something as simple as a muscled chest.

She pulled on the washed out, ripped and faded jeans she'd found in her drawer and carefully then gingerly drew a light stretchy tank top over her head.

She was glad that the jean had been here, because she suspected everything in her pack was still soaked. She knew she should deal with that before leaving the house but she was so hungry right now that the idea wasn't very appealing.

While she was glad for the dry clothes there was a reason she'd left them behind. The wide holes in the knees and the scores up the top of her thighs told of old fights in the wasteland and the worn denim offered no protection from anything. The ass fit, but barley and she felt like she was forever having to yank them up even with a belt.

Rachel finger combed her hair, glad it wasn't obstinately sticking up at any weird angels. Her hair wasn't always the most well behaved. Finally Rachel decided she was ready to face the day and stepped out of the bedroom, descending the stairs slowly with a hand against the wall.

Charon looked up from his shotgun when he heard her on the stairs. This time it was his turn to stair. As good as she looked when she waltzed into the Ninth Circle she looked better now. She wasn't the stone cold fox that made Ahzrukhal dance for her. Rachel was softer, a girl a man might actually be able to trust with getting bitten. The faded blue denim hugged her in all the right places and the black top did the same. Charon stopped those thoughts before they got out of control.

She looked at him and gave a small smirk as she looked at the damp clothes hanging everywhere. "Thanks for the patch up, think I would have been done if it weren't for you,"

"You wouldn't have been hurt if it weren't for me," he growled, looking back down at the gun in his hands.

"Bullshit, I was coming back that way with or without you. And I'm glad I was with you because without you I would have been royally fuck…and then killed…and probably eaten," she told him, "I'd rather take a few burns on my back then fucked, killed, and eaten,"

Rachel slapped him on the shoulder in a friendly way and laughed as she moved towards the kitchen. The sound stopped abruptly, the sound cut off as she swore loudly, "Fuck! My back!"

Charon whirled around with wide eyes, "What?! Do you need more Med-X?" he asked, out of his chair and at her side in a second.

"No," she growled the word, confusing him. The confusion only grew when she yanked up the shirt, twisting to try and see her bandaged back, "My Tattoo, I paid five hundred caps for it and it turned out so well! Is it okay? Did it get ruined?" She twisted a little harder, biting her lip against the ache along her spine.

Charon shook his head; he'd noticed the state of the tattoo the night before. "It's not completely gone," he hedged but she turned to him, already resigned to the fact that it was ruined.

"How bad?"

Charon put a hand on the back of his neck, "Can't say until the bandages come off, the skin should be healed enough tonight to tell,"

Rachel sighed, tugging the shirt back down. "You're right," The red head bit her lip and changed the subject. "I got some spare boots that might fit you. I was gonna trade 'em later but if they fit you can have them,"

Rachel dug the boots out of a locker, pulling on her own spares. The boot were a little small on the ghoul but he said they be fine for right now. Rachel promised they'd hunt up some better ones for him later and then they left the house, leaving Claws with Wadsworth.

Rachel led the way to Moriarty's, warning the ghoul that the man was an Irish bastard. Charon hadn't looked very worried. Opening the door she was met with the smell of old cigarettes, booze and humans. It reminded her alot of the last night she'd spent with Boone, and the memory warmed her.

"Hey you're back," called a familiar raspy voice. Rachel grinned cockily, sliding onto her climbed barstool.

"Did you ever doubt me?" she asked, turning back towards her bodyguard. Charon wasn't beside her like she'd expected, Rachel looked around and found him leaning against the wall.

Before she could ask him what was up Gob spoke from behind the bar, surprised when his eyes fell on the man Rachel was looking at, "Charon?"

The girl looked between the ghouls as Charon gave one curt nod to her favorite bartender.

"Never thought I'd see you out of the Ninth Circle," Gob looked nervous and that confused her,

Charon snorted, "Neither did I, Girl's got my contract,"

Rachel lifted one eyebrow; she hadn't heard him speak so gruff since he'd been in the Ninth Circle. She didn't need to ask if they knew each other, even if Gob hadn't said his name Charon didn't talk to people he didn't know unless he was threatening them.

"Charon come sit down, we'll get some food. Relax," She told him and he obediently shrugged away from the wall where he'd been watching the bar. Once he'd settled in next to his mistress Gob dropped a bottle of irradiated water on the bar in front of Charon and purified in front of Rachel.

They both thanked him, Rachel by saying it and Charon by nodding. Rachel ordered food, getting noodles and them each some squirrel on a stick. Gob left to grab the food and she heard soft footsteps descended the stairs. Rachel glanced behind her more out of habit then interest and brightened at the sight of the other redhead.

"Nova, how business?"

The woman laughed, "Jericho alone keeps my rent paid,"

Rachel snorted and gestured to the stool on the other side of her. Nova gave a pointed look at Charon when she sat down. "I see you've been making Friends," she drawled with a wicked grin.

"Yeah, I'm good at that,"

Gob came back, setting down meals for his early morning patrons. "Nova, food?"

"Sure Honey," she purred, and when he came back with a bowl of sugar bombs for the woman he leaned on the bar in front of them.

"So, what happened out there?" he asked, glancing at the bandages peeking out from under her shirt.

Rachel waved a dismissive hand, "Just a Car explosion, no big deal,"

"What!" Both the whore and Ghoul exclaimed, and Rachel indulged them. She told the pair about her trip GNR and Underworld, and the trouble they'd encountered on the way back. Charon noticed that she painted him like a hero to her friends and he wished that she'd tell them the whole truth.

"Are you sure you're alright Honey? How your back?" Nova was concerned but Rachel just waved her off.

"I'm fine, a little stiff but other than that, Charon did great work," She took a sip of water as Nova glanced over at the stoic ghoul. She opened her mouth to speak but the sound of heavy boots and a bellow cut her off.

"What the hell are you two yammerin' about? I don't pay you to stand around all damn day-" Colin stopped ranting abruptly when Rachel swiveled on her stool, leaning back with her elbow on the bar as she stared him down.

"Colin," Rachel drawled the man's name, "you shouldn't get your panties in a twist so early, it's not good for you. We came in for some breakfast, but if you feel I'm a distraction to your employees then tomorrow I'll take my caps over to The Brass Lantern," her voice was even, light and threatening all at the same time.

"No, no trouble, why would I want one of my most lucrative customers to wander down the hill? Stay awhile, have a drink, chat away with my employees, I'm sure they won't let their work go unattended while you yammer on about ur grand adventures," Colin was threatening too, but not her, if she pushed him to far she had a feeling Gob and Nova would get the worst of it after she left.

Rachel pushed her empty bowl away after she spun back to the bar. Colin retreated into his office, closing the door behind him. She glared at the door, muttering darkly under her breath, "Just give me a reason boy-o,"

Charon grunted, indicating that he'd heard but the others just looked at the door. The last thing she did was pull Gob's letter from her pocket and place it under her caps on the bar.

* * *

Later Rachel paid a visit to Moira, trading in what little salvage she had and buying Charon a bed. She also got a couch and a coffee table. Instead of having Moira deliver the furniture later she and Charon lugged it over themselves. Less chance of the erratic woman spotting Claws that way.

When they finally got home Rachel counted their caps and growled, she only had 209 left. They needed to find some work. She'd been a courier and a Merc before, she'd been a farm hand and done odd jobs, she remembered that for a week and a half when she'd been seventeen she'd danced at Gomorrah on the Vegas Strip. She'd run up a rather impressive debt at one of their black jack tables and she'd ended up working it off. That had been fun but unfortunately full time dancers also were required to provide guest with more private…_entertainment_. While she didn't mind the occasional roll in the hay with a stranger she also liked the ability to say fuck off.

Charon came back down the stairs pleased that his bed was tucked against the wall of his new room. It was lumpy and the frame had a little rust on it like everything else in the wasteland but it was _his_. He was coming down to thank his mistress but stopped after catching sight of her face.

"Rachel?" he asked, not sure what the scowl on her face was directed at him or something that had happened while he'd been upstairs. She blinked and snapped her eyes up to meet his.

"Yeah?"

He didn't know if he should ask what she'd been thinking about so he stuck to his original course of action. "Thanks"

The red head blinked, confusion washing over her face. At least she wasn't displeased with anything he had done.

"For the bed," he elaborated, nodding in the general direction of his room.

"Oh, yeah of course. I wasn't going to make you sleep on the damn floor." She told him with a smirk. Rachel gathered up the caps she'd strewn over the coffee table while she continued to talk, "We only have two hundred and nine caps. That's not going to keep us or our guns fed for very much longer. Not to mention Claws,"

Rachel knew she needed to start feeding her pet more. If her knowledge of the beasts were right he'd be full grown in a little over two years. That was a lot of material intake.

"Teach him to hunt," Charon rasped, feeling the clothes hanging from the second story. Rachel looked at him, the suggestion was so simple, she should have thought of it on day one.

"How?"

The ghoul shrugged, "How would its mother have?"

Rachel thought, chewing softly on her lower lip, "I don't know. I didn't spend a whole lot of time around deathclaws. Maybe…there's a book?" it sounded stupid as soon as the words flew out of her mouth. Who on earth would have written a book on deathclaws.

Charon snorted, "Sure,"

"That sounded very sarcastic,"

"It was," He told her, tugging their dry armor free, folding the garments as he went.

Rachel watched the big ghoul take care of the laundry. It was almost comical seeing a man so very clearly built for combat doing household chores, even when the reason why he had to do them was embarrassing. She should have never walked them into a group of raiders, but the fact that she could trust him to take care of things on the rare occasion that she did something carless was nice. It had been a long time since she trusted somebody other than Boone to watch her back.

"Charon?" Rachel asked softly,

"Yes?" The ghoul looked over his should but she didn't meet his eyes.

"Thanks, for saving me," she told him, looking at her hands.

Charon growled, suddenly uncomfortable, "it's my job kid,"

* * *

**I am really sorry for the way this chapter drags, I promise there will be more action in the next one. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Fetch!" Rachel laughed, throwing a stick as far as she could across the wasteland dirt. Claws scrambled after it while Charon shook his head. They'd taken the deathclaw out of town an hour ago, moving around the wall until they were well out of sight of Stockholm.

"This is not productive," the ghoul growled, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"It's not," She agreed with a grin, "It's just fun,"

Claw was running back, skidding to a stop in front of her and dropping the slobber covered stick on her boots. She laughed, picking it up and holding it out to Charon. "You should try it,"

"Is that an order?"

"You know it's not,"

"Then I decline," He was being stubborn but Rachel didn't push, she just shrugged and flung the stick again.

It was a little after noon and the sun beat down on their armored bodies. They were originally planning to find something to feed Claws but somehow his new mistress had gotten sidetracked by the silly game.

Charon wiped sweat from the back of his patchwork neck and returned to scanning the horizon. At least he wasn't stuck against a damn wall. Watching a girl play fetch with her pet was better than watching drunks fall asleep.

"Sit," He heard the order and glanced over at the girl, already slouching to the ground. Charon growled and straightened immediately when his milky eyes found the girl. Rachel had the stick in her hand, and was pointing at the ground at her feet. She was talking to Claws.

The deathclaw cocked his head, not understanding.

"Claws sit," She repeated, pointing again. She sighed and bent, pushing him down awkwardly and repeating the word again. When she had him down she smiled and praised him. "Good Boy, who's a good little predator?"

He squawked in something that sounded pleased and jumped back to his feet.

"Claws, sit," She commanded, pointing down. Claws cocked his headed again and then, hesitantly, lowered himself to the ground. He was actually lying down but since deathclaws aren't made for sitting Rachel accepted it.

She clapped she handed, laughing, "Good boy! Close enough,"

Rachel looked over at Charon, "Impressed that I'm an amazing deathclaw trainer?"

He snorted, shifting from one foot to the other, "I'd be more impressed if he could feed himself,"

"He will, as soon as I figure out how to teach him," Rachel glared but he knew she wasn't really mad. He _was_ impressed actually but if she wasn't going to order him to be completely honest then he wasn't going to boost her ego any more than it already was.

"Boone would be impressed," she told him, "After I explained that I wasn't mentally disturbed for having a deathclaw in the first place,"

He thought that maybe he and this Boone guy would get along. "Who's Boone?"

"My farther, or as close as you can get to that. I was…fifteen I think when I stumbled into Novac, A little town near New Vegas. It was almost dawn, or so I'm told, I was in ruff shape and don't remember much. I had gotten stung by something incredibly poisonous that the Capital Wasteland thankfully doesn't host, most of my blood was on the ground by the time I'd reached the settlement," Rachel looked up to see if the ghoul was listening, she half hoped he wasn't but he was looking at her so she went on. "I collapsed a few yards somewhere in front of the sniper nest and Boone was on duty. He brought me to his home and handed me off to his wife. Guess they decided I wasn't much of a threat because he was always protective of her, long story short I got better and found the parents I never had,"

Charon nodded, his face was carefully blank. He didn't want her to think he felt pity for her. He wasn't good with emotions and they were defiantly swirling behind her eyes, "So his wife, do you consider her your mother?"

Rachel bit her lip, quiet for a moment before answering, "I did, Carla…she's gone now," her face went very still and her eyes shifted towards the west. Her stare was so intense that Charon looked that way too but he couldn't see anything worth attention. The ghoul wondered what had happened to make the girl in front of him look so distant. He wanted to ask but the pain welling up on her face stopped the question. Instead he went with distraction.

"Rachel," He said it softly, "Your killer wants you,"

Rachel blinked, shaking her head as she came back from wherever it was that she'd gone. She looked down and smiled, the agony in her yellow eyes fading as she picked up the stick at her feet.

* * *

"Claws, dinner time," She called, slicing open the small mole rat Charon had killed a minute earlier. The smell of warm blood and the inviting gesture from the girl was all the command Claws needed.

Rachel and Charon both watched him tear into the fresh meat. He ate over a quarter of it. When he was done they butchered the rest for him. Claw had eaten a lot more than Rachel had thought he was going to. It meant that she'd _really_ been under feeding him. It also meant that his intake would only increase as he got bigger.

"What the hell am I gonna do with a full sized deathclaw?" she muttered to herself. Charon stepped up to walk evenly with her, taking her mutter as a question.

"You're going to have to tell the town leader about it eventually,"

"Sheriff Simms is going to _love_ this," She growled, "Actually I'm surprised he hasn't found us yet to give you his welcome speech, He met me at the gate," She was glad he hadn't met them because she'd been in no condition to explain about Charon's employment, and at the same time not so happy because now she had to look forward to it.

"Maybe you should wait until he owes you," Charon suggested as they rounded the domed outer wall. She waved when Stockholm noticed them and he waved back. Rachel sighed, "I think you're right, he already gave me a house for disarming the bomb and I don't think that alone is going to cover letting me keep a deathclaw in town,"

The gate slid open and they were met by Sheriff Simms,

"Speak of the devil," Rachel whispered under her breath. Turning to face the man with a smile pinned on her face. He smiled back but his eyes were on Charon. The big ghoul returned his stare, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Rachel, I see you've made a friend."

She nodded, keeping her expression bright while she prayed Claws would stay hidden. "Yep, this is Charon, he's my bodyguard."

Sheriff Simms nodded, turning his attention to the ghoul, "Mind if I have a word?"

Charon glanced at Rachel, as his employer what really matter was whether or not she minded. Simms noticed the look and the girls frown. "Just the same little welcome speech I give everyone that comes into town,"

She sighed, "Fine, I'll be in the house,"

Charon watched Rachel walk away at a brisk pace. When she was out of earshot Simms cleared his throat and held out a gloved hand, "Sheriff Lucas Simms,"

Charon grasped the offer hand a gave the man a single shake, growling "Charon,"

When he didn't offer up anything else the dark man continued, "Now, I pride myself on knowing what's going on in my town, that includes _who_ is in my town."

Charon nodded, it made sense and from what he'd see so far Megaton looked like it might be as safe as Underworld. The Sheriff did a good job protecting this scrap of humanity.

"You're a merc?" Simms asked,

"Girl hired me in Underworld," I wasn't exactly a lie, and he didn't think anybody other than Rachel should know about his contract. The less people who knew, the safer it was.

"You work under anyone I might have heard of?"

The ghoul was fairly sure the man was asking if he worked for Talon Company. While some of his previous employers had been evil asshole he'd never had to work for anyone part of a bigger organization. "I'm a private contract,"

Simms smiled, apparently he liked the ghouls answers, "Good, well welcome to town. Some people will growl at having another ghoul in town but stay out of trouble and we'll get along just fine,"

* * *

Rachel closed the door behind her and set her pack on the couch, letting Claws out. He stretched and jumped to the floor, wandering into the kitchen. He sniffed a few places on the floor and then curled up under the sink. After his big meal apparently he was going to take a nap.

"If you sleep now you'll get fat," she warned but he ignored her.

With a sigh she looked around, she really wanted to sneak back outside and listen to what Charon and Simms were talking about. Instead she dug in her pack, picking out interesting bits of salvage until she found a holotape near the bottom. She'd found about half way between here and New Vegas tucked under the seat of a burned out car.

She hadn't been able to play it then but she'd put it in her pack for later and forgotten about it. She'd notice a slot behind her Pipboy screen that looked like it might be for them. Rachel slid the tape into the slot and smirked when it clicked into place. She hit the play button as she flopped down on the couch, getting comfortable. The Pipboy display labeled the Holotape _On the Road_ Rachel wasn't exactly sure what that meant but as sound poured out of her speaker her eyes widened, The music was unlike anything she'd ever heard. The tempo was fast and the woman singing sounded like a person Rachel would have gotten along with.

The first song was just ending when the door opened and Charon walked in, Rachel turned the volume down and looked up at him, "How'd it go?"

"Simms is a good man," The ghoul said, eyes moving to her Pipboy, "What are you listening too?"

"I found this holotape in a car on the way here, just listening to it now. The music it great, Three Dog should play songs like these," She said, turning the volume back up so he could hear better. He sat down on the other end of the couch with his shotgun in his lap, slowly taking the weapon apart has he talked with her.

"You could sell the songs to him," he suggested and she looked up, eye bright with the possibility.

"I could, maybe we could find more good music, stuff that survived the war. Maybe some of the old vault would have music in them, are there many vault around here?" Rachel was excited, leaning forward as she tapped her toes along with the beat.

"A handful, they're dangerous," he wanted to make sure she knew that in places like the Vaults it was better to be over prepared.

"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. You're a one man army and I can hold my own, what do you say? Next time we're near a vault we check it out," She asked but he didn't know why, he'd go wherever she directed.

"Of course,"

"Are there any vaults near here?"

"I believe vault 101 is only a mile or two away, but it's populated," He told her, using an old rag to wipe a bit of grit out of the guns gears.

"That's okay, maybe they'd be up for some trade, I've never been in a vault before,"

Charon wasn't sure the people in 101 would even let them in but he didn't say anything. It didn't hurt to let his mistress be excited about something for a day.

Rachel played that holotape all day, it had ten tracks on it and they ranged in genre and time period. Charon thought whoever had made the tape would have like his mistress since she seemed to like all the songs on the playlist. He even recognized a few himself, the lyrics stirring two hundred year old memories.

* * *

"Hey Charon, it's after eight, you wanna go over to Moriarty's? I feel like a drink or five," Rachel was lying on the couch upside down, her head dangling towards the floor and her legs hooked over the back rest. She was bored out of her mind.

"Whatever you wish,"

Rachel was across the room in seconds, ready to go socialize with the other Megaton residents. Charon slung his shotgun over his shoulder and followed her along the rickety metal walkways leading to the Saloon. Light and noise poured outside when she opened the door, the smoke filled saloon was packed.

Charon immediately moved to lean against the wall and Rachel made no move to make him follow her. He didn't have to interact with anybody if he didn't want too. She noticed that from his position he could see everyone and keep an eye on the door.

Rachel snaked a barstool when somebody got up and she grinned at Gob when he turned to his newest customer.

"Hey kid, need a drink?" he asked, setting a fresh Nuka-Cola in front of Billy Creel.

"I do need a drink, a whiskey and a beer," she told him loudly over the din in the room. More than a few people had noticed her come in with her companion and the glance where equally split. Both distrust and disgust, maybe some curiosity when the people glanced at Charon. More desire, lust and a little mistrust when people looked at Rachel.

Gob set down her drinks and she held the beer out in Charon direction. He left the wall long enough to retrieve it and mutter a thanks before he was back in position, eyes tracking the people near his mistress.

Rachel took a gulp of her whiskey, enjoying the way the liquid burned down her throat.

"Hey asshole," a gruff voice slurred next to her. Rachel looked to her left and found Jericho seated next to her, she hadn't realized he was the one slumped on the bar near her right elbow. The Ex-raider looked her up and down with a cigarette perched between his lips.

"Hey, how your head," she asked in her sweetest voice, she was actively antagonizing him and she didn't know him well enough to know how he was going to react but with Charon less than ten feet away she wasn't exactly concerned.

"Bitch," Jericho finished off his drink, "I owe you for last time, been a long time since I got knock on my ass. Never by a fuckin' girl."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, draining her own glass. He didn't sound angry, "So, you gonna be lookin for a rematch some dark night when I'm all by my lonesome?"

"I ain't that stupid, I got a good thing here in Megaton. Besides," he flipped his hand at gob to get the ghouls attention, "I don't need to fight ya to put you on your back,"

"So what now?" Rachel asked with a cocked eyebrow, she was finding herself actually liking the grisly old bastard.

"Now we drink to a decent knock out, if we were raiders I'd be dead and you'd be leadin' the gang. But since were _decent folk_ let's sit down and knock enough back to sing Butcher Pete on the bar," Gob finished with the people he'd been serving and made his way over, glancing uncertainly between Rachel and Jericho. "What can I get ya?"

"Two more whiskeys," he growled and Gob quickly refilled their glasses.

Rachel picked hers up, "It's gonna take a lot of whiskey to get me to fuckin' sing, you buyin?"

Jericho raised his glass, "mine, To you being a fuckin' bitch,"

Rachel laughed raising her own glass, "To you being a fuckin' asshole,"

They clinked glasses and drank. And drank. Four more glasses and a lot of probing from Jericho and a few other people in the saloon had Rachel on her feet. She was way past buzzed but her balance was still decent and she raised her hands, declaring to the crowded room, "Fine you bastards, I'll give ya a show,"

Rachel hoisted her ass onto the bar and then jumped on her feet, everyone in the bar laughed, whooping and clapping. She grinned cockily at them, waving a hand at Gob who was speaking to her.

"Rachel you're gonna fall, you should get down,"

"It'll be alright, if I fall get Charon to drag my ass home," She laughed and shook her hips, eyes sweeping over the crowded bar, "Alright, I- I got a good one, found it this morning," She hit a few buttons on her Pipboy, bring up the first song from the holotape, it was the one she'd memorized the most of. She cranked the volume all the way up, it went a lot louder then she thought it would and wondered for a half a second if Moira was responsible.

She hit play and grinned again, moving her body with the beat. _"__You got the bullets;__I got the gun.__I got a hankerin'__For gettin' into somethin'. I hit the bottle;__You hit the gas.__I heard your '65__could really haul some ass."_

People whooped and any kind of nervousness that was left in her inebriated brain disappeared. Her flashed and smile, picking up a half empty beer and singing into it.

Charon had watched the whole thing unfold, and even though he didn't like her up on the bar while drunk off her ass he didn't move. She was having fun and in no real danger so he didn't feel the need to interfere.

"_I'm feelin' frisky;__You're feelin' good. I guess the whiskey__, __Is doin' what it should.__I got the cigarettes;__You got a lighter,__And when the sun goes down__we'll start a little fire,"_

He watched her dance on her makeshift stage, people laughing and egging her on. She was eating it up. The song was decent and she wasn't a half bad singer, he noted. He also noted Colin appear in the doorway of his office.

The Irish man Scowled at Rachel's ass but he didn't make a move to pull her down. Charon wasn't sure it that was a good sign or not and kept an eye on the other man just in case. Gob was staring up at his mistress in awe, the glass and rag in his hand forgotten. The awe was mixed with a little fear, probably fear of what Moriarty was going to do to him for letting the drunken girl climb onto the bar.

When the song was over she hit a button on her Pipboy to make the music stop and she laughed wildly. Colin moved towards her and so did Charon, discreetly making his way towards the bar while Colin yelled over the crowd, "Just what the hell do you think yer doin'?"

"Dancing," Rachel laughed, not registering that Moriarty was furious that she was still standing on his bar. Rachel flung her hand out, gesturing to the crowd, "Now everyone wants to buy me a drink, Right?"

Men hollered and Charon growled, she didn't need any more to drink tonight; she was going to hurt herself if she kept things up. Rachel was one of those drunks that thought they could do anything suggested to them. Her show on the bar was proof of that.

"Get you're pretty little ass off of my bar," Colin rumbled, not so angry now that he could smell Caps. Somebody must have passed her a drink because there was another whiskey in her hand. She knocked in back in two gulps, bending to setting the glass down and pitching forward, tumbling head first towards the floor.

Charon lunged forward and caught her arm, just keeping her from smacking her head against the hard floor. People laughed, as he got her on her feet. Rachel stumbled and straightened with her hands out for balance, "I'm okay,"

The ghoul watched her take a step and grabbed her arm again when she stumbled, "Rachel, I think its time you went to bed,"

She waved a hand, her words starting to loose structure, "Psh, the nike ish young, lets get amofer drink,"

"No more drinks for me," Charon growled, thinking of ways he could get her to follow him. Rachel staggered towards the bar, Jericho grabbing hold of her other arm when she'd almost made it.

"hink, ya otter icken too ur zombee'" he slurred, grinning like an asshole. Charon growled and then noticed Rachel had gone pale and quiet. _Fuck_,

"You gonna puke?" He asked her and she nodded. Rachel paused and then shook her head, "nope, um Okay,"

"Get her the hell outta here before she does," Moriarty ordered, Charon sighed, slowly guiding her towards the door, she stumbled three times but they made it out side. The ghoul look over the gauntlet of rickety high off the ground ramps and decided there was no way in hell she was going to make it to the other side of town without breaking her neck.

"ooo, the woold ish spin-in-y," she mumbled with a giggle. That decided it, he bent throwing her over his shoulder in a quick movement, hooking his arm around her leg tightly so she wouldn't wiggle off. She laughed as he carried her though the sleeping town.

Rachel watched the ground move under her. "Wow, Charon ur ass is sooo tight I could bounce caps off it," she declared and he rolled his eyes. She was fuckin' cocked.

"That's a waste of money,"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The song I picked I know is out of the time period of the game but i figure somebody would have a 70 year old song when the bombs fell. And it's one of my favorites right now.**

**It's Fastest Girl In town, by Miranda Lambert. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Sit Claws," barked the girl next to him and he obeyed immediately. A man in the telltale blue and Yellow of a vault could be seen trudging up the road from where the three companions were. Rachel gave the deathclaws head a pat as she tracked the blue figure moving towards the gate.

It was unlikely that he was a raider in disguise or anyone else for that matter; Vault suits offered little protection and stuck out brightly against the sun bleached landscape. Nobody but the people who lived in the vaults actually wore the suits.

His head moved from one side to the other and spotted her, He put a hand on his 10mm and she waved, trying to signal that she wasn't a hostile. The vault man seemed to have taken the wave as come-on-over, because he veered off the road. There was no way in hell he wasn't going to see her three foot deathclaw if he got much closer, in the last two weeks since Charon had had to carry her home the beast had doubled in size.

"Claws, take a walk," she hissed as Charon shrugged off the wall he'd been leaning on, shotgun in hand. Claws looked at her and then snorted, stalking off into the wasteland. It was a command she and Charon had both worked to teach him, he'd go out of sight until either Rachel or the Ghoul called him back. "Wait Charon, it's a vault kid. You'll probably be his first ghoul and I don't want him to panic and shoot you,"

"If he shoots me I'll shoot him back,"

Rachel flashed a grin, "That's fine, but try not to kill him,"

Charon nodded settling back against the wall with his eye alert. Rachel turned to the approaching man, he was more of a kid really. His dark skin and black hair was shiny under the dust of the wasteland and while they were probably the same age his inexperience showed.

She tucked her hands loosely in her pockets and strolled forward to meet him, a friendly smile on her face. She'd never met anyone from a vault before but from what she'd heard they were easily spooked and quick to use their weapons.

When the kid saw her smile he returned it hesitantly, glancing at the big dome and then back at her. She watched him give her the up and down and he relaxed a little. Rachel's didn't know how she felt about that, she wanted to look like she could kill a man if she wanted to but at the same time she didn't want a get shot by a green little vaultie.

"Hey there vault boy, what brings you out into the wasteland?" She asked pleasantly,

"I'm- well- how did you know I was from a vault?" He stammered. Rachel cocked an eyebrow and looked pointedly at his vault suit. He looked down at himself and blushed, "Oh, um where can I find a town called Megaton?"

"You've found it, this is Megaton, the gates are on the other side," she told him, the kid was tired and probably dehydrated. The dark circle under his eye told her how exhausted he was and there was a little blood streaked on his cheek from a bruised abrasion. "You alright? First time out of the vault?"

The boy nodded, "I knew what direction to go in when I left the vault but I got turned around, I was attacked by a giant fly and got lost. I have been outside since yesterday morning; maybe I shouldn't have volunteered to come out here,"

Rachel thought he was lucky he only ran into a bloat fly after wandering around for two days but she didn't say that, he didn't need another blow to his confidence right now. Rachel knew it would be thoughtful if he had any Caps and she knew the common house was full. _Poor kid_,

"What's your name?" she asked him, curiously.

"Freddie, Freddie Gomez," He offered his tired shaky hand politely and Rachel shook it_, manners in the vault must be a lot more embraced than out here. _

"Well, I'm Rachel and tall dark and silent over there is Charon, he's my body guard," She told him, jerking her head back towards the ghoul Freddie hadn't noticed yet. Charon nodded at the boy who was gaping at him with wide eyes, his face going pale.

"Ah…um…nice t-to meet you," the kid choked out, taking two steps towards the ghoul and offering a polite if now visibly trembling hand. Charon raised the ridges that had once donned eyebrows and stepped forward to accept the hand shake in spite of himself.

"You too," Charon rasped, releasing the hand and stepping back. The kid's reaction was unexpected to say the least. He hadn't even asked what the ghoul _was_ before offering a hand. People in the vaults were supposed to be crazy but _hell_.

Freddie kept his wide eyes on Charon for a long minute and jumped when Rachel put a hand on his shoulder. "He's a Ghoul," she told him helpfully. "It's something that happens to people sometimes when they get exposed to too much radiation. Instead of dying they become ghoulified,"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he told the bigger man and Charon shrugged.

"It happens,"

Rachel checked the sun, it was close to dusk and Claws was already off into the wastes for the night, something that had started happening when he got too big to smuggle in and out on the town, so she decided to take the kid in for the night.

"Come on boys, let's go get some food, yeah?" she asked, Charon raised an eyebrow at her that she ignored and Freddie nodded, mouthwatering at the simple mention of food. He was starving. The vault kid followed Rachel around the dome and Charon brought up the rear with alert eyes. He wasn't going to take the chance that this was a man in disguise and meant to kill his employer as soon as her guard was down.

Stockholm waved when he saw them, leaning over the railing to yell down at her, "Rachel, you made another friend I see, are you in love with him too?" he asked laughing, trusting her not to bring anyone destructive into town.

Rachel laughed, Charon had told her what she'd said in her fever induced state and the sniper had already teased her about it a couple of times. Freddie had gone red but she grinned back, "yes, now let us in, it's time for a beer,"

"If you start singing and I miss it I'm going to be very upset," he told the girl, grinning wickedly.

This time Rachel blushed, "Yeah well, that's not gonna happen again anytime soon," When she'd woken up the next morning and remember what she'd done she almost didn't leave her house. She couldn't believe she'd climbed onto the bar and sung like an idiot.

A few people had tried to assure her that she had a good voice but it didn't help her embarrassment. She'd even gone up to the Saloon and apologized to Moriarty, hating herself for giving him that even more after she'd seen a fresh bruises on Gobs cheek bone. The bartended had told her it wasn't for her stunt but Rachel was positive he was lying.

Stockholm let them through gate and Rachel lead the way to her house. Simms met them on the path and greeted Freddie with a much suspicion as he did every new comer. When Simms said goodnight they did the same and when they entered the house Rachel called out for Wadsworth. He floated down the stairs and greeted them as warmly as a robot could manage. She introduced Freddie and made it clear that he was a guest, not and intruder.

She went to the fridge and got two bottle of purified water and a bottle of irradiated. Rachel tossed the irradiated to Charon and one of the clean waters to Freddie. He fumbled but caught it and unscrewed the cap, downing half the bottle.

He gasped, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his vault suit, looking around at Rachel's sheet metal home. Charon settled his length into a chair, his gun lying casually across his lap while he drank deeply.

Rachel had moved back into her kitchen and poked her head in the fridge, they didn't have much in the way of food but she could go and buy some, she didn't want to take her vaultie into town until she was sure he knew how the stay out of trouble. More than one person in town could jump at the opportunity to extort an innocent greenhorn.

"Charon what'd you want to eat?" she asked, glaring at sparse contents of the fridge. When she'd moved in it hadn't work but Charon had rigged Solar Panels to the roof and they produced enough energy to power the fridge and Wadsworth's docking station. Before the robot was going outside to charge, sunning himself in the afternoon light. Rachel was glad it was easier for him now.

"Prime Rib," he growled from the chair, he'd started the nightly process of cleaning his gun. Rachel turned, looking at him over her shoulder. "What's that?"

Charon just waved a hand with a dramatic sigh, "never mind, it's before your time,"

Rachel straightened, closing the fridge door. She looked at him and her eyes widened, "Charon? Was that a joke?"

He grunted but she caught one corner of his mouth tip up and she clapped her hands, confusing Freddie more then he already was. "Charon! Your first joke we have to celebrate! We should have meat, Brahmin for everyone!"

Rachel was out the door before either man could move. Freddie blinked, not sure what to do with himself. So far he'd been standing in the middle of the room like an idiot. Now alone with the_, what did she say?_, ghoul, he felt even more like an idiot. It wasn't that he was a ghoul though, it was that even though the girl appeared to be the boss the man was…cool. Freddie had never felt like he was cool, even when he'd been a Tunnel Snake he was the low man on the pole.

"You can sit down kid, I won't kill you, unless you try to kill us." Charon growled,

"Dose that happen a lot out here? Killing?" Freddie asked and Charon looked up. However the hell this kid survived as long as he actually had was a miracle.

"Everyday, only the strong survive and all that bullshit," The ghoul told him.

They were quiet for a few minutes, Freddie watching him put his shotgun back together as a hand reached down to touch his shabby 10mm on his hip. When his farther, Security Chief Gomez, had handed it to him he'd been so proud. "You any good with that?" he asked,

Charon snapped a final piece into place, running a ragged hand over the worn wood and steel. "I know my way around; you don't get to be my age without a little skill,"

The door swung open and Rachel strode in with an armful of thin packages. These were presumably the Brahmin steaks she'd gone to buy. She went straight to the kitchen and turned a knob on the stove, they all heard the fridge stutter but after a second both appliances seemed to be running.

When the Steaks were in the oven she flopped onto the couch, looking at her house guest, "What's your vault like?" She asked eagerly, after her excitement about the vaults a few days ago Charon was impressed she'd waited this long.

Freddie rubbed the back of her neck, "Cramped, a lot of little rooms and narrow hallways. I'm not good with a gun and I don't have a good sense of direction but I think I like being outside a lot better. I'll probably be dead by the end of the week but I won't feel trapped," he smiled at her, something giving him a little boost in confidence, "What's your vault like?"

"I didn't grow up in a vault," she told him, a little confused why he'd even think that. He glanced down and she followed his gaze to her Pipboy, she'd forgotten about it. "Oh, no, I brought this from a trader, I'm not from here and the maps are really fuckin' handy,"

Rachel thought of something else too and blushed, her Pipboy had another feature that was amazing and she'd forgotten about it. She didn't say anything but made a mental note to give one of her communicators to Charon in case they ever got split up.

"Oh, sorry I just assumed…"

"It's okay, Freddie why are to out here anyway, you said you volunteered. I thought the vault near here was sealed," She'd asked Moira about it the day after her bar trip and the woman had told her what she knew.

"It is, but we're working to change that. Some of our resources aren't going to last much longer and we're looking for a solution," He told her,

"What do you need?" Charon asked,

"Mostly parts, and maybe some new residents but that's Amata's choice weather anybody who wanted to stay could. She our Overseer."

Charon shifted, thinking "You might be able to set things up with the local Traders, They do a good bit of business with most of the Capitol Wasteland settlements. They wouldn't bring in anyone who would disrupt your vault, they'd want to keep business going. What can you offer them?"

"Safe lodgings, water, medicine. The vault labs produce more than enough to share with the outside. We grow our on food too that we could trade but our greenhouses don't grow much more than what we need each year. Do the Caravans have a leader? Do you know where I can find them?"

Rachel shook her head but Charon thought about it, it'd been a long time but when Ahzrukhal had first purchased his contract the Traders were more or less based out of a settlement to the north.

"Canterbury Commons," He said after shifting through his mind for the name. "Last I knew the Traders set up shop there.

"Really, how do I get there? Is it far?" the boy asked, leaning forward.

It would take he and Rachel maybe two days' worth of travel to get to the Commons. It had taken the same amount of time for the kid to make it here from 101. Charon also knew that he'd have to cross some Raider territory and if his memory was right that area had been crawling with giant Ants and RadScorpions. Not to mention the Yao Guai and occasional Deathclaw that wander the full expanse of the Capitol. "You'll never make it alive kid,"

Freddie's face fell but Rachel piped up. "We'll escort you, you can be an Ambassador from 101 and we'll be your personal guards,"

Charon grunted something that sounded like agreement, _maybe_, he was the girls guard but if she was set on helping this kid out it wouldn't be that far out of his way to protect the kid too. Besides, after three weeks in Megaton he was getting restless, 70 year chained to a wall will do that. Rachel was getting restless too, he'd noticed she was a little more forceful asking if people needed things done and their trips out with Claws were getting longer and further away from Megaton.

The kid agreed to the help without hesitation and Rachel declared that they'd leave in the morning. By that time the food was done and the meat was good and with the addition of salt the InstaMash wasn't' that bad either.

Rachel produced a blanket and gave it to Freddie, setting him up on the couch in the living room before she went to bed. Charon followed her up the stairs, and before the hour was up the only sound in the house was the soft snores of sleeping wastelanders.

* * *

Settling the strap of her rifle on her shoulder Rachel surveyed their group. Charon looked like Charon, wearing leather and ready to kick some ass. Rachel had her armor on and assorted weaponry within easy reach, and Freddie looked like he'd gained a couple years over the night.

Rachel had given him some spare leather Armor that fit pretty good, He had a traveling pack already and although it was small he fit in the supplies she'd given him along with his vault suit. She'd handed it over to him explaining that half of surviving in the wastes was blending it. What couldn't spot you couldn't eat you.

He had his 10mm strapped to his hip and a combat knife in his boot. At this point in time he'd developed a layer of stubble and he had a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose. Freddie rubbed his forming beard self-consciously and tugged a sleeve. He looked up at Rachel, tugging again. "Sorry, I didn't bring a razor so I can't shave,"

She shrugged, heading for the door, "You look more rugged with a beard, older,"

"Like you're not a green ass vaultie," Charon growled, and Rachel laughed. It's what she'd been trying to stay.

"ah- thanks?" Freddie adjusted his pack and they headed out. Since they were going to be traveling together and Charon seemed to like the kid she decided that he should have a communicator too. She'd take it back when they parted ways.

"Hold on," she reached into a side pocket and pulled out two of the watches that Moira had given her. She handed one to each man and explained how they work. Charon glared at her as he put it on his wrist.

"How long have you had these?"

Rachel bit the inside of her lip, "I forgot about them"

"How have you survived this long?" he growled,

"Luck," she grinned cockily,

"My Pipboy doesn't do this," Freddie said on her right.

"Mine's modified; Moira called it a Pipboy 3001."

"Maybe when we get back I can talk to her about an upgrade,"

They walked for twenty minutes and after Megaton was a good distance away Rachel paused and looked around. There was no sign of her pet but he never seemed to be very far away, Claw was good at blending in. So far whenever she called he came running.

"Fred," She said and Charon turned as well. He gave her a look and then nodded his understanding, turning back to scan the horizon.

"Yeah,"

"I have…a pet," she started slowly. She didn't want him to freak out. "He's more or less a secret, there's a lot of fear that surrounds them and really if you ever see one that's _Not_ Claws…hide and pray it doesn't find you,"

Freddie was looking at her and while she couldn't see his eyes behind the glasses his eyebrows were high and he visibly gulped. However, like when he met Charon, he swallowed his fear and nodded.

Rachel stepped back, cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "CLAWS!"

Normally she'd never be so loud out in the open but somehow nothing hostile ever came her way when she called for Claws. Maybe it was the smell of deathclaw; it was probably the smell of deathclaw.

Freddie jumped but didn't comment at her unexpected volume. They didn't have to wait long. The sound of feet pounding on the hard packed earth reached them in under a minute. Rachel turned to the northeast, waving as her pet came into view over a bluff.

"Christ!" Freddie swore loudly, stumbling back. Whatever he'd been expecting it wasn't this creature. It halted right in front of the girl, trusting its nose into her outstretched hands. She rubbed its head lovingly, murmuring that he was a very good boy.

"Claws," she purred, scratching under his chin and then pointing at Freddie, "This is a new friend, okay? _Friend_,"

Claws looked at the new human and cocked his head, the male smelled like fear but also of the girl. She said he was a friend and that judgment was all the deathclaw needed. He stepped to the young man, stretching his neck out to sniff him.

Freddie had never seen a creature this big, the thing came up to his hips and it fingers sprouted long six inch claws. _Claws_, well the name made sense. "He's ah- cute?" it sounded more like a question but Rachel nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, They are kinda' cute when their babies,"

Freddie paled, "Babies? You mean he'll get even bigger?"

"Yeah," Charon nodded as Claws moved to him, rubbing his cheek on the ghouls' leg affectionatly. Charon ignored him, taking to the kid, "Deathclaws have an average height of ten feet."

Freddie had paled even more behind his sunglasses and Charon chuckled darkly, "Welcome to the Wasteland kid,"

* * *

**I find myself loving Claws a little more each day. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me this far and to everyone that has reviewed so far! I love you all! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"_I love you_," Rachel said it softly after a second of thought.

"Really?" The man walking next to her was surprised and behind them Charon snorted.

"Well yeah, were you expecting me to say something else?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't know, it just seems so sudden," He was nervous just talking about this.

"Of course," Rachel assured Freddie, "Look, if you've liked this girl for as long as you've said then you might as well just tell her how you feel. The worst that can happen is she says fuck off,"

Charon had dropped back for the last fifteen minutes while the two human talked about feelings. The kid apparently was head over heels for one of the girls in the vault and had asked Rachel how he should approach her. Suzie he said her name was.

Having no desire to talk about feelings with the vaultie, or Rachel, he'd busied himself with Claws a few feet behind. Charon was a weapon and he felt that his choice was the right one, he didn't think he'd be able to offer any tactical advice even if he wanted to chatter with the other two.

"What if I can't get the words out?" Charon heard the kid ask his employer. It was a valid question. He did stutter a lot when he got nervous. Charon took a few long strides forward, _feelings_ might be outside of his range but _action_ he could handle.

"Kiss her," he growled and both his companion turned to look at him.

"W-what? I couldn't do t-that, she'd be mad," he paled at the thought,

"Just grab her, put her against a wall and kiss her," The ghoul growled again firmly, "I'm over two hundred and thirty years old. Fucking _trust_ me. Most women like to be shown the men chasing them aren't fucking pussys,"

Freddie looked at Rachel for conformation and she shrugged. "That's true, I think saying it would work too though,"

Charon grumbled, dropping back to where Claws was trailing behind them. When he was younger, before the bombs fell, he'd used a hard kiss in a dark alley to get more than one woman to follow him home at the end of a long night. Charon shook his head to clear the memory, he didn't like thinking about the past.

Claw stiffened beside him, looking slowly towards the east and stiffing the air. The low growl rumbled in his throat and Charon pulled his Shotgun into his hands. "Rachel," he rasped gesturing with his gun to claws when she looked over her shoulder at him.

Rachel unslung her rifle, eyes scanning the eastern horizon. At first she didn't see anything, and then movement caught her eye and she gritted her teeth. It was a Giant Radscorpion. She pointed it out to Freddie and told him what it was. It clicked its pinches menacingly and Rachel took aim. "Keep your eyes open," she growled at the vault kid next to her. "These things like to travel in pairs."

She and Charon both fired into the arachnid, moving quickly back and forth to try and keep it confused. Freddie joined them a minute later. He'd frozen but was able to shake himself out of it. The recoil from his 10mm hurt his wrist but he gritted his teeth and kept shooting.

Between the three of them they made short work of the creature even with it being covered in its armored shell. Thankfully this one hadn't been traveling with a partner so they didn't have an equality big creature sneaking up on them.

"What's that?" Freddie asked, he sound more curious then afraid and Rachel didn't turn to look at him as she and Charon worked to remove the creature poison gland.

"It's a Giant Radscorpion; they have this poison that's worth a good chunk of caps. The poison can also be used by us, it comes in handy."

"No, you told me about the Scorpion already, I meant what's _that_?" This time she did look. Gomez was pointing at a short tower in the distance with a blinking white light on top. A couple Gatling Laser Mark II's were stationed around it behind some fancy looking barriers.

"I don't know," She said slowly standing.

"It's an Enclave outpost," Charon told them, putting the glands in an empty water bottle and rinsing his hands and knife with vodka. "A couple years ago a military faction called the Enclave invaded. Wanted control of some water purifier near Rivet City. I heard the 101 kid stopped them and now the Brotherhood controls it. These are the outposts where they used to do _research_ on the area. Some pretty sick stuff."

"Would it be worth looting?" Rachel asked, eyeing the glint in the distance.

"Might be, I hear people stay away from these. They think these outposts are haunted,"

That was all the encouragement she needed, veering off course towards the abandoned outpost. She lifted her rifle and took two well-aimed shots. A smirk curling the corner of her mouth when the Mark II's were reduced to nothing but scrap metal and scorch marks on the ground.

Freddie watched the two experienced wastelanders pick threw the small camp. They opened boxes, looked behind thing and walked the perimeter. Rachel had a bobby pin and a screwdriver out, picking the lock on a big metal chest.

He heard a soft click and a cocky grin broke over her face. "Charon, Plasma weapons!"

The ghoul moved to her side and Freddie inched closed, looking at the high-tech weapons with glowing green parts. Rachel pulled out the biggest, grinning like a fool. "This is gonna be worth so many caps,"

"It's broken," Charon rasped, pulling what looked like grenades from the crate.

"Yeah, but even broken if we can find some brotherhood guys we can sell this," Insisted the red head. She reached back into the box and pulled out another smaller weapon.

"Here Gomez, I'm upgrading you," She told him handing over a strange looking pistol. "This is a Plasma Pistol, be careful with it because anybody you shoot will probably end up a pile of green goo,"

"r-really?" he asked and she nodded,

"Yeah,"

They finished picking the Enclave's bones and continued on. The sun was high and as relentless as ever, no wind stirred the sparse grass tough enough to survive the environment. Despite the heat and dust rising from their footsteps the four of them were in good spirits. Even Charon hadn't grumbled in almost two hours.

Claws trotted around Rachel's legs happily, sniffing her boots and clumps of weeds as they passed. As far as lookouts go Claws was proving to be an excellent one and the scent of deathclaw kept a lot of wasteland creatures away. All they'd had to fight threw the long day was the single Radscorpion.

They came over a hill and found that the ground dropped off sharply, it was maybe a fifteen foot drop. There was a large building just beyond but Rachel wasn't looking at the ancient factory before them. She was looking over the edge of the short cliff into the rusted out back of a dump truck.

"Rachel?" Charon questioned,

She didn't answer; instead she vaulted over the edge.

"Rachel!" Charon barked, lunging to where his employer had vanished while Gomez scrambled to the edge. The ghoul knew a fall from this height wouldn't kill her but a broken leg would take days to heal even with a stimpak or two.

"What? I'm right here," she called from below and he grumbled in her direction, going to the edge of land. There she was, perfectly fine and picking a Big Book of Science from under a long forgotten skeleton.

"You shouldn't fucking jump off ledges, what if you'd broken your neck?" he growled loudly

"But I didn't," she said brightly, tucking the book into her pack and rifling through the debris under her feet.

"You could have," he tried to press but Rachel just cocked an eyebrow.

"But I _didn't_,"

Charon shook head with irritation. Since she hadn't actually hurt herself she wouldn't believe that she'd done anything wrong. Her train of thought drove him crazy sometimes. He watched her climb onto a metal barrel that _may_ or _may not_ contain chemical waste and grip the rusty edges of the dump truck. She jumped, hoisting herself chest high over the edge before the weight of her pack dragged her down.

Rachel scowled and climbed back onto the barrel, tossing her pack over the edge this time. She jumped again, boot skittering over the rusted metal as she tried to lift herself over the edge. Charon could see the large flakes of rust preventing her from getting any kind of grip under her boots and that jagged pieces of metal were catching her clothing, preventing her from lifting herself any further.

Rachel fell back on her ass and the men above her laughed. Well, Freddie laughed and Charon smirked with his arms crossed over his chest. The smug smirk was almost the same thing for him and it pushed Rachel's buttons in a very special way.

"Shut the fuck up," She growled, irritated more then she should be. Rachel wasn't good at dealing with embarrassment and there was no way in hell she was going to admit she was wrong. Ever.

"You're stuck," Charon told her and she scowled harder,

"I am _not_, I like it in here. It's protected, thought I'd take a nap," She flopped down into a pile of debris next to a skeleton and she propped her hands behind her head.

"Do you want help?" Charon asked patiently, this smug look still plastered on his face.

"I don't need help with a nap," Rachel told her companion, closing her eyes. Charon shook his head and moved back from the edge, following the slope of land that led him around the bluff. Freddie followed, asking, "Is she really going to take a nap?"

"Maybe, she's stuck in there, and too proud to admit it,"

"I'm not fucking suck," she growled from inside her metal prison. "We're just stopping to have a little lunch,"

Charon shrugged as Freddie bit his knuckle to keep from laughing. Charon sat on the ground with his back leaning against the truck. He opened his pack, finding what he wanted almost immediately and he tossed the boy a package of Yum-Yum Deviled Eggs. Charon ripped open a similar package for himself and settled in to wait from his difficult employer.

"These are pretty good," Freddie told the ghoul between bites.

Charon grunted and swallowed his mouthful. "You should have tried those 200 years ago."

A sigh came from inside the truck and Freddie thought he saw the corner of Charon's mouth tip up for a second. The ghoul glanced back at the rusted metal, "Rachel?"

She was silent for a moment, "I threw my bag over the edge,"

"You did," Agreed the ghoul,

"All my food was in it," she grumbled,

"You can get your bag and then return to your _secure location_," He told his employer smugly. If Gomez didn't know better he'd think Charon was having _fun_ tormenting the girl.

Rachel scowled and gritted her teeth. "I _can't_,"

Charon sneered and waved a hand at Freddie who'd begun to snicker. The vault boy bit his knuckle and Charon continued to poke his mistress.

"Why not?"

"Because, _Charon_, I'm …currently unable to relocate my position due to an inability to proceed outward," she growled, obstinately avoiding the word she knew he wanted to hear.

Charon got to his feet and shook his head, "Why didn't you just say so, I'll come _help_ you,"

"You know, for an employee your very disrespectful," She muttered, too irritated to enjoy his perky attitude.

"As you ordered, mistress" he told her, bowing in her direction.

"I know you're bowing out there," Rachel growled as she glared in the direction of her companion's voice, "And I don't appreciate it, now get me out of here,"

Freddie erupted into laughter and watched the big ghoul scale the edge of the bucket easily. He disappeared over the edge and Freddie heard Rachel blow out an irritated breath.

"Show off," she muttered, "What are you doing?"

"Come here," he heard the man rasp, "Put your hand here,"

Rachel's voice was hesitant, "_Okay_,"

"Just grab and pull, I'm sure you know what to do," Charon sounded like he might be teasing her, if the ghoul teased.

"Char_ooonnn,_" she squeaked and her head appeared over the edge, Rachel's fingers wrapped around the lip of the bucket and she hoisted herself up smoothly with Charon giving her a boost. She swung her legs over the edge and jumped to the ground. Rachel stumbling but she recovered her balance before she fell over.

Charon followed easily, and he didn't stumble when his feet hit the ground. Charon pulled a package of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes out of his bag and tossed them to her. Rachel caught them and tore it open.

"So," Rachel said brightly between bites, "Think it's worth checking out this factory. There could be some pretty good stuff in there,"

"What could be inside?" Freddie asked, eager to learn about the outside world.

"Scrap metal, maybe a few meds, food. Places like this will have first aid kits and if we are lucky they will have a few treats in them," Rachel took another bite of cake and looked at the building.

Charon finished of his food and washed it down with a bottle of dirty water. "There could be Raiders, other less friendly Mercs, animals or super mutants. Not to mention traps. We should be careful,"

They packed up what little gear they'd gotten out and headed for the Corvega factory front door. This time Charon was in the lead instead of the girl. For a guy his size he could move disturbingly soundless when he wanted too. Freddie noticed Rachel was moving differently too, slipping through the door like a cat in a pre-war holotape. Claws watched but stayed outside when Rachel told him to.

Freddie mimicked them, being as quiet as he could, neither one of his escorts shushed him so he figured he must be doing a pretty decent job.

Crouched, Charon held up his fist and the humans behind him stilled. Freddie tilted his head to listen in the direction of the hallway stretched in front of the main doors. It was a scuffling sound, one of the many things he wasn't familiar with yet.

Charon saw the kid's expression and eased back until he was next to the boy. "It's always important to know what you're about to face in the wasteland," he whispered softly, "lots of animals make distinctive noises, up ahead is a Giant Ant, those," he pointed to a pile of something Freddie thought looked gross. "Those are ant egg clutched. The meat inside isn't bad,"

Freddie nodded and Charon moved back to the front, unaware that Rachel was grinning at his back. It was the most he'd said to anyone that wasn't her in the few weeks they'd been together. Freddie squinted down the gloom covered hallway, looking for the ant Charon had said was there.

"Line up your shot," Rachel whispered to Gomez, pointing towards a shadow moving at the end of the hall.

"Me?" He whispered back, "but I've only fired a gun once! You or Charon should do it,"

Rachel shook her head, "I believe in learning on the job Gomez, now line up your shot while it still hasn't noticed us,"

Charon watched his employer instruct the boy silently. The kid took direction well and only need Rachel to correct his grip on the plasma pistol once. The ant at the end of the hall picked up its head at the end of the hall in time to see a flash of green light before it disintegrated.

"Decent shot," the girl praised,

"I was aiming for its head, not its ass," Freddie growled and Rachel slapped a hand on his shoulder

"You'll get better with practice Gomez, and besides you gun probably hasn't been sighted in in years. I'll show you how to maintain it when we go back outside."

There was more scuffling above them and further up the hall. The ants defiantly had a nest in here. The group didn't have too much trouble sneaking through the abandoned car factory though, sniping ants and looting anything worth carrying.

Charon motioned for the two to wait with a fist in the air when they reached the floor, moving forward into the large out room that must be the factory's main work floor. Charon swept his eyes around the dusty room, catching the movement of ants form both his right and left. He picked his right first, crippling the ants head with a spray of buck shot.

The crack from his shotgun echo through the open warehouse room and for a heartbeat there was silence, than the ants attacked. The bugs poured down stairs and out from under the giant scaffolding that held car bodies.

Rachel and Gomez rushed in to help, the screeching of ants and the thunder of gun fire mixed this their own shouting voices was defining.

Rachel and Gomez went back to back as the ants circled them, giant pinched clicking as they closing in on the fresh meat that had wondered into their nest. Rachel dropped and empty clip and slammed a fresh one in place, snarling, "Why the fuck are there so many!"

"Fall back! Both of you, run!" Charon yelled from his place ten feet away, he could provide a distraction while Rachel and Gomez got out of there. He pumped lead into one ants head near his left knee and viciously kicked a second. There were eight of them still alive and ringed around the ghoul's legs. Others crawled from further into the factory and those were closing in on the humans fast. Casting her eyes around she counted fourteen that she could see, all hungry and coming at them.

Rachel gritted her teeth, firing into the head of the one closest to her and a second disappeared in a flash of green. Charon's swearing got louder, he sounded like he was in pain. Rachel moved quickly, rushing to help her friend. Charon was the furthest from the door and had attracted the bulked of the ants.

Rachel reversed her rifle, slamming her butt down on the thorax of an ant that had its pinches locked around her bodyguard's armored shin. Its exoskeleton made a crunch and ant goo spurted in all directions. Freddie took shots at the ants trying to join the ones already swarming the two outnumbered fighters. Charon and Rachel beat at the numbers ringing them.

Rachel kicked an insect off the back of her guard's ankle and then kicked it again out of her way before she put her back to Charon's. She obliterating the insects head and moved her iron sights to her next target. It felt like the fight lasted forever, but it was probably closer to a few minutes.

Rachel's heart beat hard in her chest as she spun to find her next target but her eyes only met the bodies of the ant's they'd killed. She wiped a hand over threw her hair and grimaced when an unidentified substance was rubbed with it.

She heard Charon make a noise half way between a growl and a groan and she turned to give him an inspection. He was in rough shape, the armor on his legs was dented and there was a crack in one panel. His pants were ripped all to hell from his thighs down and his lower half was coated in blood.

"Charon," she began

"I'm fine kid," he growled, cutting her off. He was lying and they both knew it.

"Gomez, can you stand guard or do you need patching up too?" She asked, ignoring her big companion.

"I can wait until you two are done," he told her and turned back to watch the rest of the room along with the doors leading beyond.

"Rachel patch yourself up first," Charon growled again, he look stiff to her and she scowled. If she had to guess she'd say he was fighting to simply stay upright.

"You're losing blood a lot faster than me, come on tough guy," Her voice was stern as she wrapped an arm around his bicep. She half dragged, half lugged him to the iron steps they'd descended a couple dozen ants ago, making him sit. He sat heavily and while he wasn't about to admit it, he was incredibly thankful to have an employer who watched his back.

Charon bent to drag what was left of his pant legs up but Rachel smacked his hand away. "Let me take care of you, just relax for a minute," She told him, all business as she peeling away the blood soaked cloth. She pulled a bottle of irradiated water from her pack and used a mostly clean rag to clean the jagged tears in his flesh.

Rachel heard his breath hitch once but otherwise he was quiet through her treatment. His silence made her wonder what he'd had to endure in his long life. He must have been in incredible pain.

Rachel had applied a stimpak to both legs even though the water she'd used had already stopped most of the bleeding. When they found a nicely irradiated area she'd make him sit in it for a while just to be safe. Rachel was just finishing wrapping the second leg in bandages when she heard Gomez gasp and a screech hit her ears so loud it reverberated in her skin.

She spun and her eyes widened when she saw what they were faced with now. Gomez raised his pistol, stammering, "What the hell is that!"

The nest Queen was hauling her girth through a connecting door on the other side of the room. She was huge, barley able to squeeze through the doorway. The queen yanked herself fully into the room and stood at her full height, coming maybe ten feet to the top of her head.

She hissed and spat green acid in Gomez's direction. Rachel yelled for him to move but he was already in motion. The acid sizzled when it hit the ground and Rachel brought up her rifle, firing. Gomez was right there too, sending blasts of energy into the Queens body.

Charon was on his feet and at Rachel's side in seconds. Rachel opened her mouth to tell him to get back but his hand shot out and shoved her way just as acid sailed past her nose. Distracted, Rachel scowled and left Charon to fight alongside them.

The Ant Queen screeched again, and Rachel swore loudly when her rifle clicked instead of fired. She reached for another clip and paled, she was out of ammo. Rachel dropped her gun and grappled at her pistol immediately.

Charon planted himself between his employer and the Queen when he heard her weapon hit the concrete floor. Gomez looked at his traveling companions and grimaced. His heart was racing and he was short of breath, he was also down to the last of his ammo and he noticed Rachel had tossed her rifle.

Gomez, wide eye and scared, acted. It almost was like he was watching his body from somewhere else as he rushed forward. He did a dive roll under the queen ant's head, pointed his plasma pistol straight up under her chin and pulled the trigger.

The queen's head exploded, showering the vault boy with blood and grey matter. The smell made his eyes water and he spat, hoping the tinny taste in his mouth was _his own_ blood. His ears were ringing but his eyes were clear and when he looked up his friends where staring at him.

"Holy flying fuck," Rachel sighed suddenly and laughed.

Charon nodded, "Good shot kid, you think next time you might get a little closer?"

Coming out of his overwhelmed dazed Freddie wiped some ant goo from his face and laughed, "Maybe a little,"

* * *

**Chapter 18! Do you guys think the fight was rushed? I've never been very confident with my action scenes.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Digging in her pocket Rachel pulled out her pack of cigarettes and selected one. She lit it and inhaled the smoke with a sigh. She usually didn't smoke in the wasteland but this morning she'd woken up twitchy.

Things that didn't normally irritate her _did_. The boys were still sleeping in the office that they'd barricaded themselves in the night before. She'd lifted a corner of the desk blocking the door soon after she'd started her watch shift. She'd shifted it quietly and had slipped out into the hallway. Claws had come out with her, getting up when she had.

She had leaned against the wall once out of the room, twitchy or not she was traveling with other people and she wouldn't leave them unguarded. If she'd headed into another part of the building who knows what could happen while Charon and Gomez slept. Maybe nothing, Charon was a trained merc, and you didn't live as long as he had by being a heavy sleeper, but still.

Rachel scowled, cracking her back and neck. Sleeping on the floor was one of the things that was irksome this _fine_ morning. Not that she'd done a whole lot of sleeping. A solid nine hours hadn't come to her since she'd danced on the bar that night in Megaton. It was one of the reasons why she always volunteered to do the last watch of the night, it was a relief to just get up.

Every night she'd lie down and close her eye and pretend. In the couple hours she did manage dosing off she'd dreamed, reliving that horrible moments from her past. Moments like when she dragged her beaten body across the Mojave, and when Carla had died.

Sometimes it's wasn't Carla now, her mind was getting creative. She'd seen Boone up there on the selling block, his throat in her crosshairs. She'd seen Gob, and that vault girl she'd met on the road. She'd seen people she'd known and liked from Goodsprings and The strip. Last night she'd seen herself in the cross hairs. She'd looked up at herself, nodded once and she'd heard the gunshot. That had been…_creepy_.

Maybe that's why she felt so on edge today, maybe the exhaustion was finally catching up to her. Nothing like mercy killing yourself on a legion slave block to make a girl surly in the morning.

Rachel flicked the ash from her cigarette and took a final drag before flicking the filter to the floor. She glanced down towards both ends of the hall and grumbled to herself, lighting another cigarette out of boredom. Claws poked his head around the corner to her left and returned to her, finished with whatever inspection he'd been performing.

This was why she hated traveling with people. If she didn't have to wait for the others to get the fuck up she'd be gone already. Yesterday she'd like their company, today she was angry. It had happened before, and she knew these feeling were going to pass. The knowledge kept here there against this wall chain smoking instead of disappearing into the wasteland with her pet.

She knew Charon would chase her if she did leave, she had his contract. She didn't know what Gomez would do. The boy didn't have the experience to track her and she wasn't sure if Charon would let him tag along if it was just him.

Rachel ran her hand over the butt of her rifle, she wanted to shoot something. Maybe today they would find a nice little group of raiders to take out. Maybe that would quiet the tingling in her shoulders and down her spine. Maybe a good fight would ease the tension in her muscles.

Rachel glanced down when Claws butted his head against her knee. She smirked, blowing smoke from her nose as she rubbed his head. "You get it," she whispered too her pet, rubbing the dark and raised skin where his horns would soon appear, "You wanna go kill somthin' with momma?"

He licked her hand with is long rough tongue and she snorted, wiping her wet hand on her pants. "I knew you would,"

She wanted to wake the other two up but didn't. Not yet, it was actually only 4:30am according to her Pipboy. Not even dawn yet. She'd only been on watch for a couple hours. She'd wait until the sun was up and then she'd wake them, it wasn't their fault she felt like she did.

Another half an hour and she was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her gun in her lap. Claw had settled himself against her and had his head tuck firmly against her thigh. He was fast asleep; she could feel his warm breath push threw her shirt and heat her stomach every time he exhaled.

She had her combat knife in her hand and she was carefully etching her name in wide clean letters into the wooden butt. There was a fresh cigarette between her lips and she'd used a couple pieces of string to tie her red hair up into short pigtails.

She was on the first "O" in Boone, when she heard soft movement from the room they'd spent the night in. Claw looked at the door, sneezed and tucked his head back against his mistress. Rachel kept scratching at her rifle, half of her was happy someone else was finally getting up, the other half was annoyed her solitude was going to be disturbed.

The door opened but she didn't look up. She did see Charon's boots though, so she knew who had entered her hallway. Claws huffed in her lap and cuddled more firmly against her, apparently he didn't want to be disturbed either.

Charon didn't say anything and she wordlessly offered him a cigarette. Their eyes met and they shared a moment of understanding. He took the offered smoke and that was enough for them. In the few weeks she and the ghoul had been together they'd come to a comfortable understanding; that unless something was on fire or they were about to be shot that there was no need for conversation early in the morning.

He stood there with his employer, smoking in silence while he watched her carve her name into her gun. It was a nice few minutes for them while she finished.

Rachel lifted her gun and blew away the wood dust she'd made, she admired her work for a second and decided it was time to move on. She got to her feet and stretched her arms over her head to pop her back.

Charon watched her quietly, catching a glimpse of a pale scare on her hip bone when her shirt lifted. It was two long claw marks, they were pale telling him they were old and he suspected a third line on her pale skin below her pant line. They weren't wide enough to be the work of a deathclaw and he wondered what had caused them.

Rachel didn't notice him scrutinizing the skin on her waist, and he was thankful for that. He had absolutely been staring at her battle scars and _not_ her pale skin. She was his employer, a person he was loyal to because had to be, not because he care for the silly little smoothskin. Not because he was sure she'd die out here without him watching over her.

Rachel opened the door and he watched her prod the kid with her boot. He woke up quickly, unabashed but Rachel's roughness and jumped to his feet.

"Good morning," he grinned, ecstatic to be alive and out in the world.

Rachel made a non-committed sound and nodded. _He's a morning person…fucking fantastic_. Rachel thought to herself and rubbed the back of her neck. She took a deep breath to get ahold of the bitchy-ness building inside of her before she spoke.

"I want to get moving, if we set a good pace we can get to the commons by tonight,"

She still growled the words but he nodded brightly, something that Rachel caught herself finding incredibly annoying and they all left, eating on the move.

* * *

Canterbury Common's was a quiet place. The first living thing she saw was a pack Brahmin and a trader camped under a tree at the town's entrance. It had been all damn day and the mole rats they'd run a crossed hadn't done anything to burn off the tension she was feeling.

A man in pre-war clothes and a gun on his back was coming towards them. He smiled in a_ I-won't-shoot-if-you-won't _kinda way, offering his hand. Rachel gave Gomez a nudge and the Vault kid shook the offered hand.

He explained who he was and what he was doing so far from the vault. While Gomez talked with the man named Roe Rachel and Charon wandered around the settlement. They took in the state of the buildings, possible exits and assessed threat levels.

Finally the companion's settled on stools in the diner in town. Maybe if she couldn't fight mood away, she could drink it away. If that didn't work she might go look for some jet or a good fucking. She thought about it a little more and decided she'd try the fucking first. It had been awhile since she'd found a nice strong man to have her way with.

A skinny dark skinned man came over to them immediately and offered Rachel a smile that was a little more than friendly. "Hello, welcome. I'm Joe Porter. What can I get for _you_?"

Rachel noticed that the man ignored Charon and it irked her. People in megaton ignored him too, and she'd heard a little of the gossip they'd created to entertain themselves but predigest towards ghouls was just something they had to deal with. Still, it had never bothered her quite like it did at this moment.

Rachel's eye's flashed and she turned to the ghoul next to her, smiling as sweetly as she could "What do you want Charon?"

Charon cocked a brow ridge at her and she cocked one back. He smirked, if she wanted to play with the bigot behind the bar he wasn't going to stop her. "A beer,"

"Make it two," she told the man. He gave her an odd look and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Ah, we don't normally serve _his_ kind here. They make other customers uncomfortable, I'm sure an intelligent woman like yourself understands," Porter gave her a smile like he was explaining a simple concept to a small child.

Rachel cut her eyes to Charon, he was picking at his finger nails, incredibly uninterested in the topic of conversation. It made Rachel even angrier than she was. He was so used to this kind of treatment that Porter's insults didn't even register. He shouldn't have to be used to it. _Fuck people._

Rachel glared at the bigot in front of her and very casually pulled her pistol from its holster and placed it on the counter. "I think, since he and I are your _only_ customer right now, that you'll be willing to make an exception. In the Interest of _business_,"

As much as Charon loved the blow the brain out of wasteland assholes he figured it wouldn't be very productive to do it in town they were trying to work out a deal with. He shifted, eyes on the man pissing off his employer. The man didn't look at him but he did ease away from Rachel slightly.

Joe paled ever so slightly, eyes focused on her gun under her hand. His gaze shifted up and he took in the worn rifle on her back. When she'd walked in he'd noticed she wasn't just a pretty face playing scavenger. The girl looked…experienced.

Maybe it was the way the light from the lanterns overhead made her eye's glow gold, or the way that gold held no kind of warmth, but a chill ran up his spine and he nodded slowly. Porter grumbled under his breath and then pulled to warm beers from under the counter.

There was a fridge humming right behind him but Rachel didn't say anything, instead she slapped down her caps and popped the cap off her bottle on the edge of the bar. It left a fresh dig in the wood and she smirked.

Porter looked like he wanted to say something but in the end he didn't have the balls. Rachel glared at him, and kept her eyes locked on his until he retreated to the other end of the room.

Rachel tipped up the bottle to her lips and shuttered as the alcohol slid over her tongue, she hated warm beer. She slid her eye too Charon, he still didn't seem bothered but she defiantly was.

Charon tapped his knee against her's and she looked at him. He cocked his eyebrow and nodded towards the beer in her hand. Rachel realized that she'd started to loudly tap it on the wooden surface of the bar.

"You okay?" he asked softly, it was way too quiet in the diner.

"This place is pissing my off,"

"What do you want to do?"

Rachel took a long pull from her beer bottle while she thought about it. What did she want to do? She could feel the heat from Charon's knee soaking into hers, it was distracting. What did she want? She wanted to shoot Porter and make her nerves stop twitching but that would probably just end up being a pain in the ass.

Rachel sighed, "Let's go kill something,"

He nodded and stood, ready. He didn't practically enjoy being in this town any more than his mistress did. It really wasn't the town affecting her though, he'd noticed Rachel's mood when he'd first gotten up. She'd been extra surly and it hadn't passed.

Rachel stopped on their way out of town to tell Freddie they were heading out for the night. He'd been startled but it wasn't like the kid could stop her.

"Will you be back tomorrow?"

"I don't know, if we aren't back by the time you're done with the traders go on back with one of them," She told him and walked away without waiting for an answer. They'd gotten him to the Common's alive and that had been the original goal, she no longer felt responsible for him. Of course she knew the tomorrow she probably would again but she'd worry about it when it came.

Charon followed her a few paces behind, she could hear his boots in the gravel. She chugged the warm beer in her hand, a shiver running the length of her spine but warm or not she hated to waste a good beer. Rachel threw the bottle when it was empty and it shattered against a rock. Rachel laughed and unslung her gun from her shoulder, "Come on Charon, let's go take out the world!"

"What?" He asked, a little concerned

"I said let's go take on the world,"

"Where you go, I shall follow," She had said _take out_, not take on, and the slip was concerning. He knew somewhere deep inside herself she'd buried something. It tried to surface on the rare occasions that she actually slept. The circles under her eyes were growing darker by the day and so where her though processes.

He watched his mistress put her thumb and finger to her lips and whistle. It was a loud sharp sound the echoed across the wastes, and a minute later Claws obediently appeared at her hip. His claws and muzzle was sticky with drying blood and his stomach was distended. Charon was a little proud that the beast could feed himself now; it hadn't been hard at all to teach him the concept.

"Who's my good boy?" Rachel cooed and he swept his tail back and forth against the ground. Charon wasn't sure that was a deathclaw thing. Wagging tails was more of a habit exhibited by canines. Somehow the predator had picked it up though because he was certainly doing it.

Charon scanned the horizon while she gave attention to Claws. It was a little odd that they hadn't seen anything threatening. Raiders peppered the landscape, at least they used to. Animals too, large aggressive beast where supposed to roam the dessert.

"Come on Charon, let's go that way," Rachel pointed back the way they had come,

"Why that way?"

She shrugged and adjusted her pack, "Don't know, I just want to go that way,"

She started walking and he obediently fell into step behind her. She seemed a little happier now that it was just the two of them. The walked in silence for a while just enjoying the night.

Charon heard her curse softly and he looked at her. She was looking at her Pipboy, frowning at it. She poked a few buttons and then shook her arm violently, trying to shake away whatever problem she was having.

"What?"

"There are tick marks on the compass and they keep flickering green and red. It's never done this before. It's like it can't tell if there are hostiles ahead or not."

"How does it know in the first place?" he asked and Rachel looked back at him,

"I don't know,"

"Would you like to investigate?" He asked but he already knew the answer. She wasn't the kind of woman to cower form the unknown.

She grinned and crouched low to the ground. Together they snuck up a bluff and crawled to the edge. She frowned at the three men in the outcropping below. They were in black combat armor and where carrying some impressive weapons.

She couldn't hear what they were saying and she didn't recognize the logo on their armor so she looked over at Charon.

"Do you know who they are?" she whispered and he nodded,

"Talon Company Mercenaries, they are the kind of men who'll do a job if the caps are right, regardless of moral or threat level. They're very dangerous,"

"Are they as dangerous as me?"

"Yes,"

"Are they as dangerous as you?"

"No," he smirked

"Then let's go say hello, and if they shoot us we'll shoot them back,"

"That's not a good idea," he warned but she wasn't listening. She was watching the Talon men, gears in her head turning. Charon knew that she was out here looking for a good fight but he wasn't thrilled about purposely antagonizing Talon Company. This far from Fort Banister meant they were hunting a target. Talon's had a bad habit of shoot first and check identities later.

The ghoul snapped his hand out to grab the back her leather armor's collar but before Charon could stop her Rachel was out of reach. She slid down the steep embankment and stood, hands on her hips and grinning as all three Talon guns aimed at her head.

"Well hey there boys, what brings fine looking merc's like you to a place like this?" she asked brightly, ignoring their weapons. She was excited, her heart beat pleasantly against her ribs and she wanted to laugh.

"Who the fuck are you?" a dark skinned man asked, he must be the team leader here.

"Who me? I'm just a board little girl out wandering, how about you?" She was still grinning as she shook her hips in place, Charon thought she looked like a dog anticipating a treat. He growled under his breath from his cover. She was going to get herself killed and one of these assholes was going to end up holding his contract. As far as he knew she still kept it in her fucking bra. She really didn't understand it's importance.

"We're looking for someone, a girl." The leader told her, looking Rachel up and down.

"What kind of girl?" she asked, taking a step closer. Her fingers were itching to touch her gun but she didn't, she wanted to draw out their interaction.

He looked up, meeting her eyes slowly, "A red head, a black widow. Told she likes to play with her food and keeps a gun hidden on her body,"

For the first time since meeting these men Rachel got a red flag in the back of her head. That sounded an awful lot like herself, "Oh? Any idea where this girl is? Maybe I could help?"

"Maybe," he smiled at her but it wasn't friendly. "She's supposed to be traveling with a ghoul. We've been tracking her for a while, heard she was escorting some little vault brat to Canterbury Commons. You just came from that direction," he leered at her and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. "Have you seen anybody like that?"

"No, I haven't. She must have moved on already."

"I don't think so,"

"Why do you want a stupid little girl when you could have me?" She smiled up at the man and batted her eyes. She'd love to blow the fuck out of these guys but if she was the target of a contract maybe it was better to turn tail and run. She didn't want anyone to get ahold of his contract and put a collar back around his neck.

"_Maybe_, I could go into town and check?" She offered making a show of looking him up and down, _check for a back door so me and Charon can get the fuck out of dodge,_ She though. They could get ahead of these men and set up an ambush.

"Yeah, why don't you do that for us. When you get back, you and I can have a little fun." he smiled, Rachel didn't think he believed her but he moved back and let her move down the path that lead back to the main road. She walked slowly, with her hands in her pockets. She hoped she looked relaxed. She hoped Charon was ready to disappear with her.

"Hey Rachel," She turned around automatically to look for whoever had called for her and froze. The Talon merc was grinning. _Fuck._

"Well well, looks like you have seen her. Where's you shuffler? Not around to save your pretty little ass," He cocked a shotgun that looked a lot like Charon's and even as Rachel aimed her own rifle she though; _oh that's gonna' be mine._

A gun blast made her jump and the man directly in front her dropped to the ground. The other two dove for cover and Rachel looked up to see Charon standing on the ridge looking bad ass. One of the other men, a blond, grabbed her from behind. He yanked, trying to drag her along with him. His arms where wrapped around her shoulders tightly. Furious with herself for letting this guy get the drop on her, she slammed her head back into his face. He yelp and pain shot threw her skull be she'd felt his nose break and that was satisfying.

His grip loosened and she broke free. Rachel whirled and raised her rifle. He stared back at her with wide eyes and fired at her. He was holding his assault rifle with one hand while the other gripped his broken nose and the kick from the gun threw his aim off a lot. At this range that saved her life.

Rachel felt bullets slam into the right side of her torso and down her thigh. It hurt, but the adrenaline dulled the pain for now. She dodged to the side and brought the butt of her rifle down hard on the hand covering his nose. He screamed and stumbled back, Rachel didn't waste any time. She flipped her rifle, aimed and fired again, sending bullets into her target chest.

He lay still but she sent one more bullet into his forehead to be safe. Rachel looked around and saw Charon picking the body of the leader. The third man was dead in the dirt a few feet away.

"What the fuck do you think that was all about?" Rachel growled, her nerves hummed pleasantly but the fact that a merc group was looking for her was troubling. She kicked the body at her feet and yelped, the impact had sent pain searing up her right side. She looked down at herself and grimaced at the blood coating her stomach and leg, the red stain almost reached her knee.

"Rachel," Charon called and she looked at him, he was reading a piece of paper she assumed he'd picked from the body.

"What?" She asked, doing her best not to limp as she made her way over to him. he handed the paper over, watching her face.

Rachel read the paper and gritted her teeth.

**Name: Rachel ?**

**Age: early 20s**

**Race: Caucasian**

**Hair: Red**

**Eyes: Yellow**

**Instructions: Rachel is an important woman to the client; she's to be brought in alive. She's traveling with a large ghoul; the client wants the ghoul dead. There are a lot of caps riding on this, don't fuck it up.**

"I haven't even been in the Capital Wasteland that long, who would want to capture me?" She growled, stuffing the paper into her pocket.

"It may be someone tracking you from the Mojave, can you think of anyone who would pay to have to alive?"

"I didn't think I'd pissed anyone off enough to have them track me across the country,"

"Well you've pissed somebody off," Charon looked at her intently, willing himself to see into her head and find whoever she could have crossed enough to hire Talon Company. That when he noticed the blood shining in the moonlight.

"Rachel you're hurt," he reached for her but she dodged him with looking up. She didn't want him to think she was too weak to tend her own wounds.

"What- oh, yeah. It's not bad; I don't think he hit anything important,"

"It's not fine. You're losing a lot of blood. Come here," Charon reached for her again but she stepped away.

"There are mercs after us, I can make it back to town and if it will make you happy you can treat me there were its safer. I'm not the kind of girl that cries over every little scoff I get in the wasteland,"

"It's not safer there. Those Talons were planning on kidnapping you there. Look," he pointed to a wooded door she hadn't noticed in the rock face. "That's probably someone makeshift shelter when the war started. We can clear it and make camp in there for tonight,"

Rachel nodded, the side hurt like a bitch and she was feeling lightheaded. Maybe sooner _was_ better. She looked around her, allowing Charon to guide her towards the decrypted door.

"Hey, where's Claws?"

At the sound of his name he appeared, scampering down the bank.

"He hid behind my legs when the gunfire started; guess he didn't follow me into the fight,"

Rachel smiled down at him fondly, glad he was alright, "You sir, are a deathclaw. Don't be a fucking wuss,"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

_Fuck that hurts_. It was the first conscious thought Rachel had. She groaned softly, not entirely sure where she was or how she had gotten there. Carefully, she pieced together the last few memories floating around in her head.

She remembered fighting the men from Talon Company. She had gotten hurt a little and then Charon was fussing about that. She had petted Claw. They had been going to a battered door; Charon wanted to make camp there rather than go back to town. He was being a mother hen. She'd had much worse and knew she was fine.

Slowly, Rachel opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a metal ceiling glowing with soft firelight. She turned her head towards the source of the light and smiled at her ghoul. He was watching her from the other side of a pressure cooker that he'd built the fire in.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Like I want a cigarette," She smiled weakly at him and propped herself up on one elbow. She didn't enjoy feeling this weak.

He gave a snort as he lit one for her, taking it from his lip when the cherry glowed red. Wordlessly he handed it over and she took it gratefully, inhaling deeply without hesitation. Rachel exhaled and tentatively sat up, wincing when something along her right thigh pulled painfully. She had to pull her thin blanket off and push her pants down a couple inches to see the lowest bullet hole.

The flesh around the wound was bruised angrily while the one higher up on her hip gleamed with a few drops of fresh blood from when she'd moved. She lifted her shirt as well, only now noticing that she wasn't wearing her armor. The tank top she'd been wearing under it was stiff with dried blood, but her skin was fairly clean. Each bullet wound had neat cross stitches.

"Charon, I have stitches," she said aloud. She counted six holes in her body, the top two near her rib cage looked a few days old but the ones running down her leg where still bright.

"Yes," he agreed.

"Why do I have stitches?"

"You lost a lot of blood. I only found one stimpak, so I used it near your lungs where you had a cracked rib."

Rachel looked at the stitch work on her thigh and she noticed how far her pants had to come down to gain access to the wounds. "And how did I get stitches down here?"

Charon wasn't in the mood to play. "The same way you got them everywhere else. I did what I had to do."

She nodded. Rachel trusted him not to do anything while she was unconscious. It was weird, really; she hadn't trusted anyone this much since Carla and Craig Boone.

"Thank you. Why don't I remember this room?" Rachel asked, trying to move away from her self-evaluating thoughts. She looked around the metal room. There was a barricaded door behind Charon and a big cog-shaped door behind her. Computerized equipment was scattered everywhere along with trash. It looked like broken-up bits of wood and half-burned paper was what Charon was using to fuel the fire.

"You fainted."

"I don't faint," she told him as she continued to inspect the room. She'd never seen a door shaped like a cog before.

"You did faint."

"No, I take sudden and decisive naps. Fainting is for weak little girls. I'm a wastelander."

Charon looked like he wanted to laugh, he didn't though. She'd never heard his laughter before and she wondered idly what it might sound like.

"How do you feel?" he asked again.

"Leg hurts like a bitch," she told him, cracking her neck.

"You should rest." He dropped an already scorched book into his makeshift fire pit.

"No, I'm fine, I promise."

He looked at her disapprovingly, but she smiled and said "_Really_. Now where are my boots?"

He picked them up from beside him and tossed them over. She pulled them on carefully, keeping her face still and blank. If she winced then Charon would make her go back to sleep. Not that she'd be able too. He'd probably have to knock her out, what with her increasing insomnia.

Charon watched her stand slowly. Even though she was trying to keep it from him, he knew she was still in pain. He didn't argue with her; as of right now she wasn't in any immediate danger and it wasn't his place. Instead he watched her for any sign that she was more seriously injured.

She stretched, testing her stiff muscles, and looked around. As fascinated by the vaults as she was, the confused look on her face made it apparent that she'd never been inside a vault before.

Charon had barricaded the door leading deeper into the vault, in case something hostile was living inside. Clearing hostiles out of a place this big would take hours, and Rachel had been bleeding everywhere.

The barricade wasn't ideal but they had been under certain time constrains. Her blood was permanently stained into his leather armor; she'd lost more than any normal person should lose while being awake this quickly. Rachel was stubborn, though. Maybe too stubborn to die.

A few hours ago she almost did die, she _should_ have died. But there she was, inspecting one of the control systems to the vault door as though she hadn't just been in a fight, let alone taken six bullets.

"Charon?" Rachel asked. He looked up. "Where are we?"

"Vault 108," he replied. Her eyes lit up and he cut her off quickly. "No. Tomorrow."

"Why, I'm _fine_. Let's go now."

"We both need rest. We can look around inside tomorrow."

She sighed and settled back down in her blanket. He was glad she hadn't insisted, because then he wouldn't have had a choice. They'd end up running into something with teeth and she'd open her stitches and bleed out. Then he'd have to find a new contract holder and end up an obedient slave once again. He hoped that tomorrow she'd take it easy until they could find a couple more stimpaks.

He looked at her quietly from his side of the fire. She looked so tired. Claws had curled up around her and he had his head in her lap. That beast was devoted to the girl. It came when she called, followed her without being told, and Charon suspected that if Claws thought Rachel was in any real danger, he might come running to her aid as well. It was a lot like Charon, just another oddly deadly pet. Of course his devotion to her came from the contract she held, not from any emotions for her.

"Hey, Charon?" Rachel said, and he looked back up, pulled from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What do you think happened to the people here?"

He looked around for clues to adequately answer her question and then shrugged. "Vault-Tec used a lot of these vaults for military testing and social experiments. We will likely find out more tomorrow when we look around."

"How do you know so much about all this?" she inquired further.

"I have been around a very long time. You should sleep. You will heal faster with rest."

Charon watched her nod in agreement as she laid back down. Claws moved with her, resting his head on her stomach and pressing close. Charon shifted his gaze to the flames. Rachel's question wasn't a bad one; it just wasn't one he wanted to answer.

Vault-Tec Industries. The company that came up with a way to save humanity from the nuclear war that everyone saw coming. If one had the means to pay, they could secure a spot for themselves and their family in one of the many atomic bomb-proof shelters that Vault-Tec provided. And people did pay. Anyone who could afford it paid. Even those who couldn't.

These vaults were the ideas of men who weren't as saintly as they claimed to be. The first vault was constructed years before the Great War, and that's where Charon's training had taken place. Alongside four other men from his unit.

That first vault wasn't completely subterranean. It only had two underground levels, with an additional aboveground level. It was a prototype for the vaults to come.

Charon ran a hand over his face and shook his head, trying to clear the memories. They weren't fond ones. He reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out his dog tags. He still remembered the day he received them, before he saw what war really was. Before his _special training_ and before his contract. He had been so proud.

The two metal dog tags held his name and other information, but he wasn't looking at those. He was looking at a smooth metal oval with a Celtic knot engraved into it. He had kept it on the same chain as his tags for as long as he could remember.

200 years was a long time to keep track of something. He was glad that none of his employers had seen and taken the tags away. One of them had ordered him to sell his armor and gun to cover a gambling debt. That was a long four months without a decent weapon or protection. During that time he had hidden his tags in his boot.

"What's that?" Rachel's voice asked.

Charon twitched and wrapped his fist around the steel ball chain, looking up. Rachel had not moved, but her eyes were open and she was looking at him. He tucked his tags back under his shirt and pulled his gun onto his lap. "It's nothing," he said.

"It didn't look like nothin'," she replied gently, looking back up at the ceiling.

"You could order me to tell you, you know." He went quiet.

Rachel nodded. "I could. I won't, though; you'll tell me someday."

She said it like it was a matter of fact, and it made Charon look at her more closely. "You sure about that?"

Rachel nodded. "I am, because one day I won't just be your employer. I'm going to be your friend, your comrade. I can feel it. One day you're going to know all my deep dark secrets and I'm going to know yours."

Charon stared at her with his eyebrow cocked, speechless.

Rachel smiled faintly, rolling away from him and wrapping her arms around Claws' neck.

"I'm feeling sleepy," she whispered. "Goodnight, Charon."

He shook his head. "Goodnight, Rachel."

* * *

"I'm _fine_ Charon, let's go." Rachel was bouncing on the balls of her feet while Charon was shifting the debris blocking the door. She had been up bright and early, ready to venture deeper within Vault 108. Charon had tried to talk her into waiting longer but she wouldn't listen. He'd even had to distract her with a Fancy Lad Snack Cake in order to get her to stand still long enough for him to check on her wounds.

As he inspected her injuries he sighed. If she was careful today she would be fine. Since he was pretty sure that Rachel lacked the capacity to be truly careful, he decided he'd have to keep an extra carful watch on her until they found some more stimpaks.

Dutifully he removed the barricade and opened the door, gun in hand. The air in the tunnel was stagnant and all was quiet. Rachel moved around him and took the lead as she always did.

Rifle at the ready, she walked, peeking around hall corners whenever they came to a turn. She acted all business-like. It was the first time Charon could see Rachel as the experienced scavenger that she claimed she was.

"I'm gonna loot the fuck out of this place. I wonder where the armory is," she wondered under her breath as she looked at her Pip-Boy map.

"We should find the medical wing first," Charon whispered back to her, just behind her ear. His breath sent a familiar shiver down her spine and she growled to herself. She didn't date traveling companions. She didn't _date_ anyone_,_ but she definitely didn't sleep with traveling companions. It would be complicated.

The thought crossed her mind that Charon was a ghoul, too. She didn't consider herself a bigot, but she'd never thought about being with a ghoul before. She had also never felt any kind of strong reaction to a guy just being near her either, especially not in dangerous territory_._

_I must be more sexually frustrated than I thought if being close to a person gives me shivers. Then again, even for a ghoul, Charon is a fine piec-_

"Rachel?"

The sound of her own name brought her out of her mental ramblings. She peered at Charon and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just thinking,"

He nodded curtly and moved ahead of her, gun up, taking the lead. The door to the next level down was right in front of them and so far they hadn't run into anything worse than a couple of mole rats. There lay a corpse in a blue 108 jumpsuit but from the look, _and smell_, of him Charon would say it was dead for quite a while.

"Do you think there are any survivors?" Rachel asked. "I mean, mole rats couldn't really take over a whole vault. Could they?"

Charon stepped over the corpse and opened the door to reveal a hallway. He shrugged. "Depends on how many hostiles and how well the vault was prepared for attack."

"Right...ooh, _that's_ a nice bat." she said distractedly. The room on her right flank looked like it was used for storage, and a pristine-looking baseball bat was leaning against a locker. Rachel went to pick it up and gave it an experimental swing.

"You're taking that with you?" Charon asked as she returned to his side and crouched down, bat in hand.

"Of course. One day one of us is going to want to beat something to death with a bat. When that day comes we'll be ready."

Charon opened his mouth to retort but stopped short, turning his head to look further down the open hallway. Rachel looked as well. She didn't see anything but she heard a sound just a little lower than a whisper. Claws growled softly, sniffing the air in front of them.

Rachel glanced at her Pip-Boy; it was blank so she crept slowly forward. It took a few steps, but a green tick mark finally showed up on her compass. She stopped and leaned over to show Charon, "It's green."

"You shouldn't trust it," he warned her. She bit her lower lip.

"You're right. What do you think it is?" she asked.

"That sound was human. We should be cautious."

Rachel gave a nod and put a hand on Claws. He looked at her and growled when she pointed to the rusted floor. She gave him a stern look and pointed again. This time he slowly lowered himself to the ground.

"Good boy, stay here until we know it's safe. I don't want to get shot on sight."

She looked at the tick marks again and then looked at Charon over her shoulder. "You should stay back, too. We don't know if these guys have ever seen a ghoul."

"We don't know they won't shoot you just because," Charon muttered.

Rachel gave him the same stern look she'd given Claws and Charon went rigid, though he kept speaking. "Mistress, my skills are best used at your side. For your safety I insist that I accompany you."

Rachel winced; she hated when he went all formal like that. She heaved a sigh, one arm cradling her rifle, her other hand on her hip. "Oh fine, just…just try to look non-threatening."

He gave himself a brief once-over and looked up to meet her eyes. "It is one of the more difficult orders I've been given, but I will do my best, mistress." He smirked at her and Rachel promptly flipped him off.

"Smart ass, let's go."

Rachel took the lead, keeping low to the floor as they made their way down the hall. It wasn't long before she spotted a figure in a blue jumpsuit standing just inside a doorframe.

Rachel motioned Charon to stop and slowly she stood up. The man didn't notice her but she heard him or another person in that room say "Gary…"

She put a smile on her face and pointed her rifle to the ground. "Hello?" she called.

The man jerked and turned to look at her. His eyes widened as he looked her up and down. "Gary?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Gary? No, I'm Rachel. Can I talk to whoever is in charge here?" Rachel asked while the strange guy inspected her inch by inch. It was almost like he'd never seen a woman before.

"Gary!" his sudden yell made her flinch and she jumped back instinctively. 'Gary' lunged at her, producing a lead pipe from somewhere. He swung wildly at her and she quickly skipped out of range. A single blast from Charon's modified shotgun brought the crazed man down.

Rachel looked at her bodyguard with one hand on the back of her neck. "Well, that was weird."

"We should leave, this place is not safe," Charon urged her.

"You don't think our house in Megaton is safe," she retorted.

"It is not."

"Fuck off, I paid good caps to furnish it and it's in one of the safest settlements in the wastes!"

Charon didn't look up as he picked the dead man's corpse. "The walls are thin and there is only one way in or out. If we were attacked in force, there would be no way to retreat."

"Well where would you have us live?" She demanded.

Charon thought about it while he tossed her the three caps he found. She said "we" and "our" like he was an equal. She was the kind of woman who probably thought that he was. He should remind her that he was a tool for her survival but she would argue and that wasn't something he should provoke in unknown surroundings.

"I have not yet found a place I would call safe. When that place is found I will let you know."

Rachel grumbled something under her breath. "Let's keep moving, tall, dark and paranoid."

* * *

The gunfire sounded like an endless rain of bombs in the narrow hallways. The 'Garys', as Rachel had taken to calling them, swarmed everywhere. Some of them carried guns, other fought with their bare hands. One of them had tagged the back of her right shoulder with a lead pipe.

She could hear Charon swearing as Claws yowled furiously. The three of them were fighting for their lives and losing. Two of the Garys had gotten the drop on them as they were coming into a large room. Their gunfire had attracted more. The fighting was like catnip to the identical crazed men. It seemed like for every clone they killed, two more would appear out of nowhere.

They were being forced to fall back; Rachel didn't have time to check her Pip-Boy and she prayed that they wouldn't meet a dead end. She fired clip after clip, Charon doing the same beside her.

She was bleeding heavily from her stitches and she had a new bullet wound going clear through her shoulder. The Gary she was fighting got his hand wrapped around her forearm and he yanked her into a blow from a heavy wrench. She ducked, saving her skull but sacrificing that same shoulder. She snarled at the Gary, bringing her knee into his groin.

Rachel heard the _whoosh_ of a vault door behind her and a rough hand grabbed her wounded shoulder. Rachel screamed, her vision going blurry as she was yanked backwards. The force drove her around and sent her stumbling across the threshold.

"Rachel, run!" Charon snarled from somewhere behind her as she blinked her eyes to clear her vision. She saw Charon slam his fist down onto the button on the wall and the door slid closed between them.

"Charon!"

She rushed to the door, the gunfire was muffled on the other side but she could still hear it. She beat on the door control, but it only sparked. The door didn't budge. Charon must have shot the lock on the other side.

Rachel spun; she was alone in a long hallway. Her Pip-Boy didn't show any tick marks on her side of the door but there was a mass of them on Charon's side.

Rachel pounded her fists on the steel, yelling furiously. "Charon! Claws! Fuck!"

She had to get back. She had to find a way to get back to Charon. He was a good merc, but he was vastly outnumbered. Not even Charon would be able to hold his own for very long with a dozen plus psychos bearing down on him.

Rachel turned and gasped when her injured shoulder reminded her of its presence. She reached into the pouch on her waist and pulled out the two stimpaks she'd found in the vault. She applied one to her stomach and the other to her shoulder. Then with the help of her combat knife she used strips from her already bloodstained shirt to bandage a deep gash in her forearm. She didn't know when she'd gotten it but it hurt like a bastard now.

Rachel rechecked her Pip-Boy and her heart stuttered in her chest. She saw three red ticks and one green. She pressed herself to the door but she didn't pick up another green. Someone was dead over there. While she watched, one red blinked out, and then another. After a couple more seconds the last red tick and the green tick blinked out together, red and green in the same second.

Furiously, she wiped the tears from her eyes. Maybe they just got out of range. Maybe Charon was able to make it back the way they came. Heart beating way too fast, Rachel ran. She bolted down the empty halls, desperately looking for a way back to where Charon had shoved her to safety. When she found him he was going to be in so much trouble.

She turned right and then left. A startled Gary looked up in time to see her gun flash. She was past him before his body hit the rusted floor.

Rachel ran until she was out of breath, down halls and up and down staircases. Doors opened and closed for her but she didn't see anyone, there wasn't a single mark of life on her compass.

Finally she rounded a corner and tripped, sprawling to the floor. Rachel lay there. She was gasping for breath. She was sniffling and panicked as her heart pounded erratically against her ribs.

She looked at the screen of her Pip-Boy, _nothing_. Rachel blinked and sat up in a hurry, turning the dials quickly until she found the page for the communicators. Charon had one, and if he was alive he could answer her.

"Charon!" she called into the speaker, but she was met with silence. She flicked to the next frequency with gritted teeth. "Charon!" Still nothing. She bit her lip. There was a way to broadcast to all of them. Moira had shown her how. Rachel should have tested it when she had the chance. She held the buttons down like she was sure Moira had told her. "Charon?...Charon!...answer me, you _asshole_!"

Static crackled from the speaker and then a voice sputtered out. "_…ell…Rachel?_"

She sobbed once into her fist when the sound of Charon's voice came through the speaker. His beautiful, gravely, distinct voice. "Charon! Are you all right? Where are you?"

Charon groaned softly. Claw was standing close, keeping guard. The deathclaw was covered in blood and Charon wasn't sure whose blood it was. There were dead Garys everywhere and he'd managed to make sure the rest of the hall was clear before he'd slumped against a wall to rest.

He was battered and bleeding. Bullets had torn threw his shoulder and chest. One was lodged in his left thigh and his arm had been broken by keeping a baseball bat from shattering his mistress's skull. She hadn't seen him do it and he was grateful.

_Rachel_. He looked at his hand, the one he'd used to force her through that door. He'd hurt her in the process. Her blood stained his skin and fingerless gloves. He hoped she wasn't too angry. He hadn't meant to grab her wound but he had to get her through that door.

He prayed that she ran like he told her to. Prayed that she'd gotten out of this damned vault alive. If she did and was safe outside the vault's main door when he died, then he could go knowing his contract had been fulfilled.

Maybe it was because she was small and female that he fought so hard to protect her. He'd protected his employers in the past, but not like he did for her. Charon groaned again when Claws nudged his broken arm.

He glared at the beast but the string of curses died on his lips when he heard her voice under an electronic crackle. "_Charon,_"

He looked down at the watch on his wrist and cursed softly. He had forgotten about the communicators. She showed him how to use his. "_Charon!...answer me, you _asshole!"

She sounded desperate, worried, _pissed_. He chuckled and with a shaking hand hit the button, leaning over his injured arm. "Hell…Rachel?"

There was a pause and in that time he imagined her sobbing in relief to find him alive. Not that she'd do that, it wasn't like she was attached to him. Somewhere in the back of her mind he knew he shouldn't pretend but he was losing a lot of blood.

"_Charon! Are you okay? Where are you?_"

The ghoul looked down at himself. He was in pain but that was easing away. He felt comfortably numb. "Nothing a little radiation won't fix, not sure of my exact location, but somewhere on the second level. You okay?" He rasped and hoped she couldn't tell how weak his voice was.

"_I'm fine, Charon, coming to find you._" He could hear her moving, she sounded worried.

"Rachel, leave. I'll be alright."

"_Like hell, Charon, I'm not leaving you behind. Is Claws with you?_"

"Yeah, kid, he's here."

"_Good, try to send him my way. Then he can lead me right to you._"

Charon sighed and looked at the deathclaw. Claws was staring at the communicator watch with his head cocked. She wanted him to send the beast instead of having him go meet her. He hadn't fooled her at all, she knew he was hurt_. It's nice she cares_.

The ghoul growled to himself, working some authority into his voice. "Claws, go find Rachel."

Claws looked at him and then down the hall. Charon closed his eyes for a moment, shielding them from the harsh vault lighting. "Rachel, fetch. Go on, she needs somebody to watch her when I'm gone. Fetch." He held out his good hand, he was so tired. "Fetch Rachel,"

Claws sniffed the ghoul's palm, touching his snout to the blood stained there. He sneezed and then Charon heard the tapping of claws walking away. He sighed, leaning his head back.

He was so tired.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The click of her pet's claws hit her ears seconds before a little green tick mark showed up on her Pipboy compass. He rounded a corner and she almost cried when she saw him. Claws squeaked and ran to his mistress, rubbing his blood splattered head against her tight.

"Good boy," She praised him, rubbing his head with both hands. Rachel wiped the tacky blood on her hands off on her pants and shouldered her rifle.

"Okay, let's go get Charon,"

Claws turned immediately and trotted back the way he'd come with Rachel right behind him. She lifted her Pipboy and hit the intercom button as they walked. "Charon, Claws found me and we're on our way back,"

It was a few more seconds then Rachel was comfortable with before he answered. "Good, get out of here,"

"No, how bad are you hurt?" She demanded,

"Bad enough smoothskin,"

She growled under her breath and picked up her pace. Claws did the same and Rachel was glad he was so responsive to her.

Claws lead her up two flights of stairs and she understood how she'd ended up on a different level of the vault. She didn't have a great scene of direction when she was underground and in a blind panic.

It took them around eight minute to reach the edge of their battle ground. Dead Garys' were everywhere and there was blood spatter even on the ceiling. Rachel recognized a small handprint as her own and shivered.

Rachel rounded the next corner and froze, she didn't know when she'd been expecting but this wasn't it. Large splotches of blood shone brightly on the floor leading to her bodyguard and There was a long trail down the wall behind him showing her where he'd slumped to the floor.

Rachel scrambled to him, he looked like he was asleep and the sight sent a chill down her spine. He didn't look up, nothing to show he knew she was kneeling in front of him.

"Charon?" she asked quietly, afraid that she'd taken too long.

Slowly, softly he groaned and lifted his head.

"Charon! Holy fuck, I'm…I'm gonna help you alright,"

"Rachel, get out," his voice was barely a whisper,

She ignored him. No way in hell was she leaving him here to die. "I know it frustrating but Charon I need you to stay awake okay? That's an order. Don't go to sleep,"

He nodded, forcing his eyes open. Rachel ran a hand threw her hair, looking around. She needed to find somewhere safe to move him. She jogged down to the end of the hall and gave a silent thanks. They were in the living quarters.

Rachel went to the first room, giving a quick inspection. The two beds where intact and the doors locking mechanism worked. "Thank all hell for small favors," she whispered jogging back to her friends.

Charon was awake as ordered, stair off into space.

"Can you stand?" she asked, crouching down.

The big ghoul grumbled and tried to stand. Rachel got his arm around her shoulders and hauled him up. He leaned heavily on her five foot two inch frame and she swore. He was solid muscle and _heavy_.

"Why the _fuck_ are you nine feet tall?" she growled, hoping to distract him while she got him to the other end of the hall. "And aren't ghouls supposed to be scrawny malnourished little bastards? You're a fuckin' super mutant, it's just nonsense,"

Charon gave a breathy chuckle, "What?" he rasped weakly, "I too much man for you to handle?"

"Trust me," she told him, getting him over the threshold, "I can handle anything you got,"

She sat him down on the nearest bed with a relieved sigh from her and a painfully groan from him. Rachel looked behind her and laughed. Claws had Charon's gun in his jaws.

"Good Deathclaw," She reached out her hand and the beast obediently dropped the weapon into her palm. Rachel put the shotgun on nightstand and handed Charon her pistol.

"This will be easier with all the holes you have, I'm going to go find the medical wing. I'm leaving Claws here with you in case more Garys show up,"

Charon leaned back against the wall with a growl, "No, take him. I'll be alright,"

Rachel scowled, she wanted to argue but she was acutely aware that time was not on her side. "Fine, stay alive okay,"

He nodded and she left quickly, Claws on her heels.

Now that she wasn't running in a blind panic she had a better sense of direction and it only took her about ten minutes to find the medical wing. It was near were she'd fallen flat on her face. There was a single Gary inside the large room studying a dead raider on a medical table.

She didn't know how she missed him but a single shot to the head was all she need to take him down. Rachel opened a loose med kit and started shoving things into it. She found Rad-X and Rad-Way, a bottle of Buffout and a handful of Stimpaks. There were a few doses of Med-X in the desk drawer and a few bottles of softly glowing dirty water.

Rachel tucked the kit under her arm and stuffed a roll of clothe bandages in her pocket. She gave the room a last look over to make sure she didn't miss anything useful and stopped. On a table by the door sat what looked like a toy. Rachel picked it up and its head bobbled.

_Charisma: Nothing says pizazz like a winning smile_.

Rachel showed it to Claws, he tilted his head and sniffed it.

"You think this is worth the weight?"

He sneezed and she stuffed it into her pocket. Together the girl and the deathclaw jogged back to the living quarters. Charon was right where she left him. His eyes were closed but he opened them when she set the med kit on the edge of the bed and closed the door.

"You still here?" he asked softly,

"Did you ever doubt?" She asked, noting the blood soaking into the bed sheets.

"No, but I hoped,"

Rachel ignored him, pulling a bottle of irradiated water out of her pocket. "Here, this should help while I dig those bullets out of you,"

Charon tried to obey but his hand shook so violently when he lifted the water bottle that Rachel took from him. She unscrewed the cap and lifted it to his dry lips. Charon drank but he didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm going to give you a couple doses of Med-X, okay?"

He nodded and Rachel quickly administered the drugs. She knew he would probably need another before she started digging but two would take the edge off. His soft sigh of relief let her know the drugs were working.

Carefully Rachel undid the buckle and zipper of his armored leather jacket, hanging it off a chair behind her. Next she reached for the hem of his blood soaked shirt but he caught her hand. Rachel looked at her companion, startled.

"You don't-" he started but she cut him off,

"Charon it's okay." she whispered, "I told you I am going to help you. You saved my life back there and now I'm going to return the favor. We're partners, trust me,"

He took a long breath and then, slowly, let go of her wrist. Rachel kept her eyes on his as she tentatively cut and peeled his shirt away from his ruined flesh. Under better circumstances she would have inspected what was left of his skin. His exposed muscle was fascinating but right now she had much more important things to do then ogle her body guard.

She took his pulse quickly while she counted the holes in him. His pulse was quick and light and _that_ was nerve-racking. So were the nine holes she counted along a myriad of bruising. There were three bullet holes in his right should and his left forearm was defiantly broken. There was a hole in his left bicep that was threw in threw. He had a bullet hole right above his collar bone. It had missed his windpipe by less than an inch. A nasty hole the left side of his chest was only inches from where his heart was and he had too in his stomach she'd have to be extra careful with.

The worst of them was a bullet implanted into his upper thigh and Rachel was sure it was embed in bone. It was certainly bleeding the most.

Rachel let out a long breath and administered a stimpak to the clean bullet hole in his bicep, the rest weren't going to be so easy. Rachel met Charon's eyes with a scalp in her hand. _I am not trained for this! _

"Do you trust me?"

Charon nodded weakly, "More than anyone else in the last hundred years,"

"Since you were under Ahzrukhal most of that time I guess the bar isn't that high," she tried to joke, " feel free to pass out, it'll probably be easier on both of us,"

Charon nodded and lay down on the bed. Rachel tried not to show how nervous she was, she'd dug out bullets before but they'd been in _her_. She'd never treated anyone this hurt before. She knew what had to be done but she also knew the hundreds of thing that could go wrong. She might cause his death here tonight.

She started with his shoulder and after giving him more Med-X Rachel carefully inserting a pair of tweezers she kept for just this reason. When she started on the third bullet she noticed his breathing had evened out and his eyes were closed. He was either passed out or deep in meditation, whichever it was she was glad.

After each bullet was removed she cleaned the wounds with a cloth soaked in a mix of dirty water and vodka. After that Rachel applied gauze. She knew if she tried to do a stimpak to close to any of the bullet holes she hadn't cleared yet the wound would close around the led still suck inside of him.

Once Rachel got started she forgot about her nerves and focused on the task at hand. The surgery took two and a half hours. She finished by setting his arm with a splint she made out of a leather belt and wood from a chair she'd broken up.

She wrapped bandages around him and applied both stimpaks and med-x. Then Rachel pulled the blanket off the other bed in the room and covered him up with it. Now all she could do was wait. It had taken all of the medical skill and probably she still needed a good deal of luck but there wasn't anything else now.

Rachel suddenly felt cold and she looked down at herself, she was a mess. Her hands, arms and chest were covered in blood. She could feel a smear of it on her cheek and it was dripped on her boots. Ghoul or not no man should bleed this much and be okay. She was defiantly going to have to have luck on her side to see them through this. The red head told Claws to stand guard and went the bathroom across the hall to wash up. She looked even worse in the mirror.

Rachel scrubbed the blood off as quickly and thoroughly as possible. She checked her own injured shoulder in the mirror too before she left the bathroom and applied a stimpak when she got back to the room. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

Rachel finally got to look over Claws and frowned. He was filthy but she didn't want to take him to the bathroom and leave Charon unguarded. Things would be a lot easier is she had their packs but they had decided to leave them near the entrance of the vault. It had seemed like a waste of energy to drag a bunch of useless junk around underground but now she wished she had it.

"I'll have to go get them," she told Claws softly, "_Stay_, and kill anyone trying to get in here who isn't me,"

The girl hefted her gun and left quietly. She didn't want to run into anything hostile and she didn't on her way up to where they'd slept last night. It seemed like it had a lot longer than just a handful of hours since she and Charon had spent the night here. Rachel found the bags tucked into a corner right where they'd been left that morning and hurried back to Claw's and Charon.

Once back Rachel filled a pot with water from the bathroom and gave Claws a much needed bath. He had a few cut and his muzzle had a dark bruise from what looked like a bat but thankfully he hadn't been shot at all.

When he was clean Claws climbed up onto the free bed and was almost instantly asleep. Rachel was a little envious of the beast, she was exhausted. She knew she could curl up next to her deathclaw but somebody had to keep watch.

* * *

Rachel was leaning against Charon's bed fiddling with her Pipboy when she heard him moan softly. She looked at her green glowing clock in the corner of her Pipboy quickly, he'd been out cold for over six hours. She gave him another two doses of Med-X and put her hand on his forehead. The action was more out of habit than fear of infection but his flesh was warm under her palm. Rachel knew ghouls ran hotter than human, the trouble was she didn't know how much hotter.

She looked around the room for something to make him more comfortable. There were no pillows and her pack was full of scrap metal for Winthrop so that wouldn't help. Rachel double checked the lock on the door and then climbed onto the bed. She settled with her back against the wall and gently moved Charon's head into her lap. When she'd been this hurt so many years ago Carla had done this for her and the contacted had help her feverish mind.

Rachel turned her Pipboy volume down and switched on Galaxy News Radio to break the oppressive silence in the room. Butcher Pete was just finishing up and Three Dogs voice invaded the airways.

"_Hello Capitol Wasteland! It's me! Three Dog! Now Children, I know I've told you this already but in case some of you have been living under a rock this month I'll tell you again. Little miss 101, our very own Hero of the Wastes has said goodbye. We've got reports of her heading west. Hey there 101, I don't know if you can hear me but if you can I hope you find what you're looking for._

_Now Children you may think Ol Three Dog had been hitting the Jet again but I swear I'm Clean. We've lost our savior 101 but it looks like we've gained an Angel of Death. Not too long ago I got a visit from a new walker of our neck of the wastes. I get a lot of reports folks and I have seen a lot of crazy things out here but I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. A girl with an honest to god Deathclaw in tow. That's right children, a deathclaw. That's one guard dog I don't want to run into. If you're in the D.C Ruin's Angel stop buy the studio so I can give little Claws a pat! _

Rachel stared at her Pipboy with her mouth open as _Maybe_ started to play. She hadn't listened to Galaxy News at all since meeting Three Dog. Sometimes it was playing over at Moriarty's but she tuned it out while she talked with Gob and drank with Jericho.

Claws snorted, he picked his head up at the sound of his name but since it appeared that he was going to get a snack he settled back into sleep.

_Angel of Death huh?_ The nickname was probably the result of Charon and Claw at her back and the threats she gave the DJ regarding her identity. As far as nick names went she didn't hate it. She didn't hate being talked about on the radio station either as long as he kept it vague.

Charon grumbled in his sleep and she quietly stroked his forehead. If he was dreaming right now it didn't seem to be a pleasant one. Rachel pulled up her list of stored songs and found one they played in New Vegas a lot.

A smooth harmonica and guitar started to play and the girl softly sang along. It was the kind of song Rachel liked to fall asleep too and she hoped it would comfort her friend.

"_In the shadow of the valley_

_I would like to settle down_

_Wide open space_

_Wind on my face_.

"It's alright Charon, you're safe,_"_

Charon quieted and she smiled softly. He was going to be fine, Ghouls were tougher than most humans and Charon was tougher than most ghouls. _He just needs a little rest that's all._

* * *

Charon looked down the long hallway he was in. There was only blackness behind him so he kept moving forward. He swore he could hear a voice, it was far away but it was there.

"Charon, I order you to come here" He jerked to a halt and looked around. In a room to his right that he was sure hadn't been there a minute ago was a man in a black military uniform. Charon immediately presented himself before the man.

"Yes sir,"

The man, the man who had trained him, read a file in his gloved hands. Captain Jon Green wasn't pleased with whatever he was reading.

"Charon we have a spy on base, find her and eliminate her,"

Captain Green showed him a picture of a pretty red head. Charon frowned at the picture. "Sir, she is my employer. It would be a direct violation of my contract to harm her in any way,"

Green scowled hard, "_I_ am your employer, not some commiee bitch. Find her and kill her. That is an order,"

Charon wanted to argue but his body snapped to attention. He saluted and left. It was her voice that he could hear. She was up ahead, he knew it. Charon hurried to finish his task quickly. The Captain didn't like to be kept waiting and he was cruel with his punishments.

There she was. He saw her slip between to bookshelves. They were in a library; he didn't know the base had a library. The girl he was instructed to kill was singing to herself. "_In the shadow of the valley, I would like to settle down,_"

He turned into her isle in time to see her slip around a corner. It didn't seem to matter how fast he ran she was always just turning when he caught a glimpse of her. He just saw a flash of red hair or dark clothing.

"Wait!" he called, knowing it was stupid. What kind of spy waited for you to kill her?

He round yet another bookshelf and stopped short. She was there in a black tank top and jeans that looked like they were being held together by duct tape.

"Why did you stop?" he heard himself ask. Really he didn't want her too, he wanted her to run. She had to get away; Charon didn't want to be the reason for this girls death.

"You asked me too," she told him simply.

"You shouldn't have, I have orders to kill you,"

"I know, it's too bad isn't it? I wanted us to be friends." She gave him the saddest smile he'd ever seen.

"Smoothskins aren't friend with ghouls." He told her but his own words confused him. Ghouls?

"Your skin looks pretty smooth to me and besides I wouldn't care either way," her voice was sweet and soft. He looked at his human hands and knew that she was telling the truth.

"I'm…sorry I have to kill you. I promise I'll make it as quick as I can," he told the strange girl. If she was really a spy she didn't seem to be very good. She let him catch her after all. That strange song led him right to her.

"Charon where are we?" She asked, looking around.

"How do you know my name?"

The red headed girl just smiled at him.

"The first vault, it is a model to show investors," It was easy to talk to her. It shouldn't be this familiar with anyone. He especially shouldn't be giving information to an enemy spy but he couldn't see this girl working for anyone but herself.

"I'm going to save you," the little red head said matter a factly.

"You can't. I really am sorry miss but I have orders, I need to kill you now,"

"Charon!" Green barked, appearing behind the girl. "I told you to kill her, if you can't follow orders then you're not prepared for deployment. Nurse!"

Fear slid threw him and he looked back, two nurses with fake smiles and needle filled with unknown liquid were there. They were going to drug him again, drug him and make him do things. Horrible things no man should be forced to do, he could almost hear the sobs of the children at his mercy. Mercy he wasn't allowed to give.

Charon reached for his shotgun but it wasn't on his back. There was a knife in his boot; he could take a few of these soulless people with him. After this exploit he would no doubt be labeled a failed subject and be eliminated.

"_Wide open space, wind on my face_," the spy sang. Even now he didn't believe she was a spy. She wasn't his employer, Green was, but he still felt he knew this girl and that she did mean to try and save him.

The nurses eyes turned black and they advanced, hissing. Charon backed away, whatever was in those needles…he didn't want it. He bumped into something and the girl stepped around him. The nurses stopped as the spy made a shooing motion with her hands. "Please go away," she asked politely. The nurses looked at each other and nodded, vanishing.

"Charon, I order you to kill that spy," Green snapped, turning red. He was furious.

"She is my…" Charon looked between the girl and the captain. They were both his employer. That was _impossible_, he could only have one. His head hurt, he ran a hand through his hair and backed against one of the bookshelves.

His chest hurt too, a lot, and his shoulder and his leg. It was like he'd been shot. This was his punishment for disobeying. Green must have shot him. For a moment Charon wondered if he'd be allowed to die. No, Captain Green is not that merciful.

"_Kill Her!"_

Charon looked at the Captain with wide eyes. He was going to be punished for disobeying. He deserved it but he couldn't kill and employer either. Green glared at Charon and the bookshelf behind him suddenly went soft. The wood turned to a strange putty and pulled Charon's limbs into it. It was going to consume him, he'd suffocate when covered his nose and mouth. After everything he'd done thought he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but regret.

The girl whose name he didn't know stepped between him and Captain Green. "Be quiet please, you are distressing him,"

With the Captain distracted the wood stopped eating him, instead he was trapped there.

"I'll do whatever I damn well please with my own _employee_," the Captain snapped, stepping close to the spy.

The girl leaned into the taller man's face, her soft voice was suddenly dangerous. "You will not hurt him while I'm still breathing,"

The girl reached into her shirt and pulled out an ancient looking paper square. She unfolded it and held it up for the Captain to see. He swore and pulled and clean sheet from the folder suddenly in his hands.

"I have his contract girl, who do you think you are-"

The girl smiled brightly, "I'm Rachel," she made a gun with her fingers and mouthed "_Bang"_. Green dissolved into black dust, he didn't even have time to scream. Charon tried to gasp but he started coughing. Rachel took his and pulled him from the shelf. She hugged him like he was a child who'd had an awful nightmare, hushing him. "Shh, it's alright, Charon you're safe with me_. You have always be there, And you always will be_…"

_Sage brush and Pine…_

_Old Friends of mine,_

_A little bit further…_

Charon snapped his eyes open, Rachel was looking down at him. She was stroking his scalp and singing that song along to her Pipboy.

_I will find my rest _

It was unusual for a smoothskin to offer this kind of comfort to a ghoul and Charon found even stranger that it was being offered to _him_. Rachel blinked and when her eyes focused on his she smiled.

"You're awake,"

His face must have reflected some of what he was thinking because she took her hand away from his skin and blushed. "Sorry, you looked like you were having a nightmare and I didn't know what else to do,"

"It's fine smoothskin," he rasped. His throat was incredibly dry. Rachel reached for something out of his range of sight and when her hand retuned it held a bottle of irradiated water. He leaned forward long enough to gulp down the water with her help and then lay down again.

It was now that he realized where she was exactly. "You don't have to be a pillow,"

Rachel's lips curled up into a now familiar smile. "I don't have to do a lot of things. I'm glad you woke up, for a while I wasn't sure if you would,"

"It takes more than a couple bullets to drop me kid,"

"Nine,"

"What?'

"I pulled nine 10mm slugs out of you, and I reset your arm so try not to move it to much until you're sure it's done healing," Rachel told him,

"How long-"

"You've been asleep for a little over sixteen hours,"

Charon slowly looked around the room and then back up at his employer, "You stood watch for sixteen hours?"

She shrugged, "Hey, what are friends for? Now go back to sleep and if you think you're up to it we'll get the fuck outta here in the morning,"

"No, I can be awake for a little while. You try and get some rest,"

Rachel looked like she wanted to argue but her exhaustion won out and she nodded. She moved and he expected her to go to the other bed with Claws but instead she curled up next to him. She was careful not to bump into any of his injuries but she did put her hand on his wrist and squeezed.

"I really am glad you're alive," she whispered with her eyes already closed. She pulled his hand to her cheek, holding onto him like she was afraid he'd die while she wasn't watching.

Charon wasn't sure how to process this woman sleeping so close to him or the level of consideration she had given him since he'd been hurt.

"So am I smoothskin," The ghoul finally whispered but she was already asleep.

* * *

**Alright, a little long but I have never really written these particular sort of emotions. I think i'll try and maybe lighten up the next chapter before a start really tackling Rachel's inner demons. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Rachel's eyes opened silently. She didn't move but Charon had been looking at her when she'd woken up. She'd only slept a couple hours so instead of greeting her he waited, willing her to close her eyes again.

Charon had his arm wrapped around her shoulders from when she snuggled close to him and she'd been cold so he'd tossed the blanket over the both of them. The ghoul knew it was another nightmare that had woken his mistress; she'd been whimpering with a scowl on her face for the last few minutes.

Instead of closing those golden orbs again the girl shifted, looking at his face and she smiled at him sleepily. Charon knew from experience that the first half hour Rachel was awake she ran on auto pilot. It would be useless to try to talk to her so he smiled back and Rachel rested her head on his chest. He gritted his teeth against the stab of pain that went through the bullet hole under her ear but he didn't move her.

Rachel dozed for another few minutes, her arm sneaking up and wrapping around his waist. Charon wasn't sure what to do about the woman being so close to him so he left her there in the end. It was just as easy to leave her sleeping the way she wanted and he found that he himself didn't mind as much as he should.

While Rachel slept Charon took a carful inventory of his body. His muscles hurt but the little red headed woman curled up next to him had done a good job with treating him. It would still take a few days to be one hundred percent but he wasn't dead or crippled, it displayed her medical skill.

Rachel shifted against his side, drawing his attention back to her pale face. She stretched and made a noise that was half way between a moan and a purr. Her eyes opened again and for a second she looked confused. Realization dawned on her face and she looked at him with half lidded eyes, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Gr'ongin," she mumbled in a pleasant tone, that sleepy smile curling her lips again. Charon smirked as she looked up at him through her bleary eyes.

"Good Morning,"

The girl mumbled something else and he caught the words _you_ and _blanket_. The whole thing sounded like a question and he had a pretty good idea about what she was asking about.

"Yes, you were cold so I covered you up with the blanket,"

Rachel smiled up at him and mumbled something else that sounded like it was supposed to be along the lines of; _you're so nice to me._

"No, I'm a mean old man," he rumbled softly, his foggy blue eyes settling on those soft red lips that smiled at him so easily. It was like she didn't realize he was a ghoul and a slave. Poor girl missed all of that and thought he was a person. She was only a few inches away; if he leaned down he could press-

Charon realized where his mind was going and he cut off the train of thought immediately. He met his employer's eyes guiltily but instead of picking of on his lecherous thought her eyes were wondering over him, stopping on the blood stained bandage her head had been on. She touched it softly and it seemed to wake her up.

"Charon, if I was on your wounds you should have woken me up," She scolded gently and then realized what had just come out of her mouth. "I mean…I…I'm sorry I was on you, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

_Only a lot_, "It's fine smoothskin."

The bed depressed on his other side and Charon turned his head. Claws had his head on the edge of the bed, looking up at the ghoul. Charon put his hand on top of the beast head and gave him a rare scratch.

Rachel leaned over her friend and rubbed her pets head too. Charon froze as her body slid across his, apparently Rachel had forgotten his very strict no touching policy. Not that she'd ever _not_ touched him but two days ago she gave an effort.

Rachel climbed over him and got out of bed, she stretched again, popping her neck and her back. Charon averted his eyes when her caught sight of her bare legs and black panties. Where she'd found panties with lace around the top he'd never know.

"Rachel?"

"hmm?" She looked over her shoulder at the ghoul starring at the ceiling.

"Where are your pants?"

She looked down at herself and then around the room. "I don't know,"

Charon wanted to cock an eyebrow at her but if he looked at her now he was afraid he wouldn't be able to look away. _She was sleeping pressed into my side, how the hell did she get her pants off?_

Charon heard her move towards him, the bed sunk and the blanket still covering his lower half shifted.

"Here they are, I must have kicked them off," he felt her move back off his bed but didn't hear the sound of her dressing.

"Charon why are you looking at the ceiling?"

"You are not decent,"

"So? You've seen me pants-less before. I have the stiches to prove it," she was trying to joke with him but he didn't bite.

"You were hurt, I was thinking of your safety,"

There was a pause and he could almost hear her grin, "So what would you be thinking about if you looked at me _now_?"

"Rachel put your pants on," He growled.

She giggled and he heard the rustle of fabric, "You're no fun,"

"_Fun_, is not in my contract," he growled, peeking out of the corner of his eye as she laughed. Thankfully she was fully dressed. Rachel rubbed her eyes and Charon grumbled.

"You should go back to sleep. You don't sleep enough,"

"I don't sleep _ever_," she corrected him still smiling, "besides; I already have my pants back on,"

Charon got up and accepted the spare shirt Rachel pulled out of his pack for him. The girl watched him pull the fabric over his head, taking a moment to appreciate his chiseled torso. Rachel flicked her eyes up and blushed, he'd caught her stairing.

"What?" The ghoul challenged and Rachel blushed a little harder.

"Um, I…I was wondering what happened to your necklace?" She lied, only now noticing it wasn't around his neck. He looked like he didn't believe her but Charon pulled the chain from him pocket and donned it anyway.

Rachel hummed, turning to gather up their supplies. Charon didn't say anything and together they left the vault as quickly as they could. The daylight was a beautiful sight even though the sir saw less than sweet.

The corpses of the Talon Company mercenaries where still there, one of them was missing a leg now though and a second had very clearly been chewed on. Rachel paused long enough to grab the Combat Shotgun that had caught her eye when those men had attacked but then moved on quickly.

"Where are we going?" Charon asked after an hour of walking.

"Um, vault 101?" Rachel asked, looking up at him. He was finally walking beside her instead of behind. She like having him in her peripheral vision, it helped kill the loneliness that the wasteland never failed to impress on her.

"Vault 101?"

"Yeah, we both need a safe place to lay low. You almost died yesterday and I have a price on my head. I think a vault, _one not filled with psychos_, would be a great place to hide out,"

"We don't know that 101 isn't full of insane vault dwellers,"

"But Gomez wasn't insane," Rachel argued

Charon sighed, "We weren't with him that long, we don't know that for sure,"

Rachel grinned recklessly and linked her arm with his, "You worry too much, Vault 101 is one of the safest places in the wasteland and the best part is not very many people know it's open now,"

Charon grumbled but he didn't argue. She was probably right, he just didn't want to be an entire vaults new main attraction. It was doubtful that any of them had seen a ghoul yet.

It had been early in the morning when they left vault 108. Now as the afternoon sun beat down on them Charon started to wonder how his little smoothskin had the stamina that she did. She wasn't trained like he was. Rachel was still hurt, she'd only slept two and a half hours after being awake for god knows how long, and yet still she was humming to herself while she skipped along the hard packed dessert.

He'd noticed when he'd woken that she was missing the first three inched from the bottom of her shirt and the jacket she was wearing only went to her ribs. It gave him an excellent view of her stomach and the tickle of blood that had started dripping from one of her guns shot wounds a few seconds ago.

"Rachel, you're bleeding," He told her calmly,

"What?" she looked down at herself and grimaced, wiping the blood away with her thumb. "It's fine, we're out of stimpaks anyway,"

"It should be healed, how many stimpaks have you used on it?"

Rachel looked away from him, and it made the big ghoul suspicious.

"Rachel?"

"Two, the one you used and one of the one's I found. I reopened it when I fell in the vault though,"

"Why didn't you use another one?" he demanded,

Rachel glared; she didn't like his tone right now. "I used them all on you!" she snapped at him "You're seven feet tall and left most of your blood on the floor. _You_ _know_ ghouls are drug resistant, I wish I hadn't used one for my shoulder either. It would have been that much more of a chance you would wake up,"

Charon tried to be furious but the crestfallen look on her face defused him. "When we get to the vault I want to take you to the medic," he told her in a calmer voice. Rachel relaxed and nodded.

"You should get checked out too," she told him as they walked

"Yeah, I'm sure the doctor there will be an expert in ghoul physique," Charon grumbled sarcastically.

"Ghoul's are just people who've adapted to surviving in the wasteland," Rachel told him, scanning the horizon.

"I've never heard anyone say that before,"

"My own theory. Think about it. Ghouls are just the next stage in evolution,"

"But ghouls can't procreate,"

"You can live hundreds of years, evolution gave you an extended lifespan while it works out the kinks,"

Charon snorted, "You're insane,"

"I know. I'm okay with it,"

* * *

"Should we knock?" Rachel asked her complain with her hands on her hips. They were standing outside an ancient beaten wooden door. There wasn't anyone that they could see but her Pipboy said they were right on top of the vault. Charon grumbled and reached around her. He yanked open the door to reveal a long dark cavern. There was a pack Brahmin inside so Rachel assumed they were in the right place.

Charon wanted to get this over with so he put a hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her through the opening with a little more force then he'd intended. Rachel just started walking instead of question him and he knew that he was lucky to have an employer as laid back as she was.

His battered body ached and he'd been bleeding from his shoulder for the last hour. Lucky the bulk of it was under his armor and in the darkness Rachel hadn't noticed, she'd just get worried about him if she had.

Rachel lead the way down the long and narrow tunnel with her hand on her pistol. Her Pipboy announced that there where people up ahead, they were green but recent experience had had her cautious. She decided longer range would be better fit the people ahead attacked and took her rifle off her shoulder, Charon followed suit with his combat shotgun.

A man in a 101 jumpsuit and a bullet-proof vest stepped forward when he saw them approached. The 10mm in his shaking hand gave Rachel the insane urge to giggle but she bit her tongue. It would be better to not to insult the man right off.

"State your business," the first guard called while the other three watched nervously. The man was a few inches taller than Rachel and his face reminded her if Gomez, it wouldn't surprise her to find out they were related. In the darkness of the tunnel he hadn't noticed the ghoul behind her.

Charon growled and cocked his shotgun, bringing the man's gaze over Rachel's shoulder. He could tell there was another figure behind the girl but he couldn't see details in the low lamp light. "How many or you are there?"

Rachel smiled and pointed her gun to the ground politely, "My name is Rachel, we're here to see Gomez,"

The security guard frowned, "I'm Gomez, what do you want me for?"

Rachel laughed softly, "I'm sorry you must call him Freddie here. Did he make it back alright?"

Gomez senior regarded the girl and the big shape behind her for a moment before he turned to one of his men. "Go find Freddie and tell him to get down here," the man nodded and alarms sounded as the door hissed and lurched open.

The messenger disappeared and Gomez Senior turned back to the wastelanders in front of him. "We'll need to verify your identity before we can let you," he explained and Rachel nodded.

"Of course, it would be a good way to get your vault massacred if you let just anyone in,"

"Who's with you…Rachel was it?"

"Yes sir, Rachel Boone. And this is Charon, say hello Charon,"

The ghoul behind her growled and she grinned, looking at Officer Gomez. "Sorry, he's not a people person. If you wouldn't mind holstering your weapons Charon will put his gun down too. We come in peace," the told him putting her hands up.

Officer Gomez hesitated and then nodded, putting his gun away. Charon lowered his too when the two remaining guards followed their captain and Rachel heard the barest whisper of a sigh. _His shoulder must kill right now_.

"You're hurt," Gomez senior told her, an edge of concern in his voice.

Rachel wiped the little rivulet of blood away with her thumb and flapped her hand dismissively. "We've had a little trouble over the past few days. This is nothing to worry about, I've had _much_ worse," a growl behind her made Rachel roll her eyes. "I mean, if I could see you're medic while we're here it would be much appreciated,"

The elder Gomez's eye squinted in Charon's direction but the ghoul was very purposely staying back in the shadows to avoid the inevitable. Quick paced footsteps from inside the vault sounded and Gomez the younger's voice called, "Dad, you wanted to see me?"

Freddie appeared and before his farther could answer a grin split his son's face. "Rachel! How the hell are you?" He greeted, stepping forward and clasping arms with her. His face was washed but he was still wearing the clothes she'd given him.

"Freddie!" his farther barked, "langue!"

Freddie flinched but Rachel just grinned, "Gomez! We have had our fair share of combat since the Commons. You know; an old vault full of blood thirsty clones, paid mercenaries gunning for me. The usual," she laughed at the stunned look on his face. "I see you made it back alright, how the fuck ya' been?"

"I just got back a few hours ago. Crow is here if you want to talk to him about armor. Seems like you lost some of yours,"

"Part of my shirt was sacrificed for bandages; it has been a _long_ couple days. Charon got the worst of it though," she told her vault friend, looking back over her shoulder.

Freddie looked at the man behind Rachel reached out to shake his hand saying, "good to see you, are you alright?"

Charon shook the kid's hand once and growled, "Fine,"

"We should probably get this over with," she told her bodyguard and she saw him nodded. Rachel gave Freddie a meaningful look and after a moment of thought he caught her meaning and nodded. Rachel smiled at the officers watching them. "Okay, since I'm sure none of you have had any contact with the outside I'm warning you that Charon isn't _technically_…human."

"What do you mean?" Officer Gomez asked, his hand going to rest on his gun.

Rachel scowled at him, "No, he's taken enough bullets over the last couple of days. If you shoot him I _will_ shoot you back. Charon is a ghoul. A human who was exposed to too much radiation and instead of dying, mutated. It's not contagious; it's just something that happens."

The four security guards looked at each other and finally Gomez Sr. nodded. Rachel stepped to the side, her sharp eyes never leaving the guards. She heard Charon curse under his breath and heard the scuff off his boots as he stepped into the light. The men's eyes all went wide and one of them drew his weapon.

Rachel stepped between her friend and the frightened man with her rifle up faster than any of the men could follow. Slowly the man lowered his pistol, correctly reading the threat in her eyes. Rachel shouldered her gun and turned to smirk at her body guard but she noted the small pained quint to his eyes and the slight paleness to the muscle exposed on his face. "Charon?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm fine smoothskin," he told her a little too quickly while he stared at the guards.

Rachel wasn't fooled. She slid her hand under his metal shoulder plate where he'd been hurt the worst and felt how soggy the leather was. Her eye flicked down and she growled when she saw how much blood from his shoulder was soaking into his pants.

"God damn it Charon!" Rachel snarled, "Why didn't you tell me your shoulder opened? We could have spent the night in Megaton next to the bomb, or in the wasteland." Rachel shouted, flinging her hand back towards the door. Charon was startled, he'd never heard her yell before, not at anyone.

Furiously Rachel rounded on Freddie, "Gomez. Infirmary. Now!"

Freddy nodded and led the way quickly without another word. None of the officers tried to stop them and Rachel wasn't sure if they were still in shock or if they were afraid of what she'd do to them if they tried.

Vault dwellers gasped or swore when they passed. One woman actually screamed when they rounded a corner but the little group ignored everyone. Gomez led them down a hallway and took a sharp right into the medical room.

"Christine, we have some work for you," Freddie called as they entered.

A pretty girl with dark brown hair was sitting at a desk wearing a lab coat. She looked up when the door opened and bit her fist to stifle the cry of shock when she saw Charon. She stood quickly and her mouth opened but nothing came out. A red head she'd never seen before was with Freddie and the monster that had just walked into her clinic.

The girl was quiet obviously furious with the tall…thing. Freddie shot an apologetic look at the wide eyed doctor. The red head pointed stiffed to the exam table in the middle of the room, barking orders at the thing.

"Charon, sit. When you're better I'm gonna kick your ass for being so _fucking_ stupid! Why in the nine circles of hell would you put yourself in this much danger. Do you know how bad of an infection you can get from swetting wasteland dirt into your open wounds all day?" Rachel was pacing like caged deathclaw, "_Yes_, you _do_! I know you do! So tell me why, why didn't you tell me!"

She rounded on the zombie and he looked at the floor quickly, he was just a little afraid of the woman half his size and it made him a lot less terrifying. "My apologies mistress, I did not wish to hinder you," he told her quietly.

Christine watched the girl fix the poor… man?... with the coldest glare she'd ever seen. "You better _not_ be pulling that formal shit with me just to piss me off Charon," she snarled and Charon flinched

"No misstr- _Rachel_." Charon gulp and steeled his resolve. He glared back at her trying to calm his nerves. None of his other employers had made him feel so spoked and it was confusing the she was doing so now. "Calm down, you're scaring the doctor,"

Rachel turned to the white doctor. The woman took half a step back and Rachel growled, walking in a little circle while she calmed herself. She took a deep breath and then another. Large hands settled on her shoulders and she was guided to the chair the doctor had been sitting in a few minutes ago. Rachel sat and looked up at her ghoul, her anger deflating.

"Charon if you die on me I'm gonna' be pissed,"

"You're already pissed," he rasped, handing her his shotgun and dropping his pack at her feet. "you're shaking, are you alright?"

Rachel nodded slowly and shifted her eyes to the frightened doctor. "Sorry, I didn't give you the best first impression,"

The doctor looked between to two people and then smiled nervously, "It's okay, when friends are hurt it can be…stressful,"

Rachel laughed and wiped her suddenly wet eyes. The doctor turned her nervous gaze to Charon. "Um, I'm not sure what you have but I'll treat it if I can, I'm Doctor Christine Kendall."

Charon nodded and went back to the examine table when Christine gestured to it. She looked him over slowly and finally sighed, "I think I'm going to have to start with a blood sample,"

Charon shook his head, "I am injured not ill," when the girl looked at him with wide eye he sighed, "I am a ghoul, my appearance is normal for my kind," He reached for a buckle of his armor and sent a glare at Freddie. The less people here the better.

It took the boy a minute to understand but when he did he gave a little start and announced that he'd wait outside. Charon growled softly when he lifted his shoulder to remove his armor. Getting his shirt off was a little harder but Dr. Kendall came to his aid when she saw he was having trouble. It hurt his pride but not has much as when Rachel had had to hold the water bottle for him.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, inspecting his shoulder with a penlight.

"Gunshots, ran into trouble while scavenging. Rachel already drug the led out." he told to woman.

Dr. Kendall hesitated and then applied disinfectant, stimpaks and bandages. She offered him some Med-x but he refused. When he was allowed to get off the table he immediately guided Rachel to where he'd been. She was being unusually quiet.

"She has been neglecting her own wounds to care for mine," He told the doctor. Rachel grumbled and crossed her arms uneasily.

"I'm fine," she mumbled softly,

"No," Charon told her,

"I just want a drink,"

"No,"

"_Charon_," Rachel pleaded but he shook his head.

"No,"

"Fine," Rachel growled and lifted what was left of her shirt to show the Doctor. Christine tsked softly and got a cotton ball and a bottle of antiseptic from the shelf.

"I'm afraid you do have minor infection in a few of these, I'll need you to roll down your pants so I can treat the ones on your leg. And go ahead and remove your jacket." Dr. Kendall turned to Charon with a reassuring smile, "You can wait outside wait-"

"Absolutely not, Rachel dose not leave my sight,"

"but- I need her to undress," she explained nervously.

"It's fine," Rachel told the woman, "Charon's the one that gave me the stiches. He's seen it all before,"

Christine pursed her lips but in the end she didn't have a choice. Rachel rolled down her pant as instructed and the doctor removed the stiches and applied Stimpaks after disinfecting each bullet hole.

"Alright Rachel, I'll do your shoulder and you'll be free to go," she told the red headed wastelander pleasantly.

"My shoulder is _fine_, really,"

Dr. Kendall frowned and looked at the shoulder. She could see the edge of a nasty bruise and the leather was dark with old blood.

"Rachel?" Charon question from his place against the far wall,

Rachel looked at him guilty and sighed. Slowly she slid off her jacket and Christine gasped. Despite the stimpak she'd used the bullet hole was still a knotted mess of scabbed tissue and the skin was and ugly bluish green and purplish grey from bruising. The bruise started around her bullet wound but branched out into the long imprint of Charon's fingers from when he'd grabbed her. She'd been hoping to buy a few stimpaks and take care of it before he saw.

Rachel looked up at him. He was staring at her shoulder with wide horror filled eyes. "Rachel…did I…is that _my_-,"

"It wasn't your fault," She told him firmly, "One of the Gary's hit me with a bat and then I got shot and then you grabbed me. I took a stim but my shoulder bone must have been cracked because it barely took care of the bullet,"

Christine stepped out of the way as Charon moved to his mistress. He'd never hurt an employer before, even in an effort to protect their lives he'd never left a mark. Gently he touched the swollen discolored skin and he saw Rachel wince.

"I didn't mean too…" he rasped miserably. The look on his face was exactly why she hadn't wanted him to see. Rachel wished he hadn't seen.

"I know, Charon you _saved my life_. A little bruise is a small price to pay to still be breathing. I really didn't want you to see it," She told her friend.

"Rachel I'm-"

"I know, now let the lady do her work and we'll go find a drink and some supper. Okay?"

Charon nodded but he still looked troubled. Christine gave her shoulder two stimpaks in case there was still damage to the bone and wrapped it up in white bandages for safety. Rachel and Charon where both given strict instruction to take it easy for a couple day and to come back if they had any problems.

Rachel thanked the doctor and tried to give her a few caps for her trouble but she shook her head saying it was a good learning experience.

Rachel looked at Charon out of the corner of her eye as they left the clinic together. "I am fine you know,"

"I still hurt you,"

"To save my life," She insisted.

_I'm still hurt you…_

* * *

**_Thank__ you to everyone who has reviewed and to everyone you has taken the time to read and stick with me! I'll have the new chapter up soon and I plan to be out of the vault by the end of it!_**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"When are you going to believe that you did what you had to do?" Rachel asked her stoic ghoul in their room. Freddie had brought them to a little apartment when they were done with the medic. He explained that the whole wing they were in had been opened for travelers so the two of them wouldn't have very many neighbors this time around.

Now it was just the two of them and Rachel was trying to get Charon to not feel so damn guilty. He was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, avoiding her eyes.

"Charon," she pleaded, "a bruise is insignificant. Barely a drop in the ocean especially compared to the other injuries I've collected over the last few days,"

"You are my employer," his words where quiet, "I should be punished for leaving a mark on your skin and protecting you ineffectively,"

Rachel sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. Even if she were to agree she couldn't think of any way to punish him that fit his crime because in her mind there hadn't been crime. She was angrier that he had neglected his own injuries then she was about the bruise on her shoulder. Rachel blinked and looked up.

"If you want to be punished then fine, I'll punish you. Not today but soon. I need to think of something fitting," she told him, watching the relief spread on his face. She'd find smoothing he didn't want to do and let him think it was for whatever he wanted.

"Thank you."

"Charon I want apologize for yelling at you earlier," She told him, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"You were very angry,"

"I saw that you were bleeding and I suppose I'm a little protective of the people close to me,"

The ghoul studied her carefully "You consider us close?"

"Of course! You are probably the closest friend I've ever had. I've been close to people before but not like with you. I trust you and that's a new feeling for me. I've never trusted anyone other than Boone as much as I trust you,"

"You shouldn't," he warned her earnestly. "If some else got my contract and ordered me to kill you I would do without a second thought,"

"I know, and if that ever happens I forgive you,"

"What?"

"It's not your fault. You're killing me because you don't have any control over yourself so I forgive you,"

Charon just looked at her. He didn't know what to say but he couldn't look away. Rachel shifted under his gaze self-consciously and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Anyway, I'm sorry. I don't know you as well as you know yourself and I over reacted a little bit," Rachel still wasn't looking at him, instead she had her eyes locked on her dusty boots.

"It's fine, you're tired."

"I really am. Do you ever have nightmares?"

Charon nodded, "Yes,"

"Me too," Rachel sighed and then shook her head. When she looked up again she had a smile on her face and she put her hands on her hips. "I'm fuckin' hungry. Are you hungry? Let's go find somethin' to eat,"

"We have food in our packs,"

"I want to see what kind of food the vaulties eat." Rachel paused and gave Charon a second glance, "Oh, I mean you don't' have to come if you're uncomfortable eating with a bunch of spooked smoothskins…"

"No, my pride has taken to many hit this week to hide in my room," Charon grumbled "And god knows what you will get yourself into without someone there to watch you,"

Rachel just grinned and hit the button for the door. A dark skinned woman blinked with her hand raised to knock on the door that was no longer there. "Oh. Hello, I came to welcome you to vault 101. I'm Overseer Amata,"

Rachel stuck out her hand, "I'm Rachel,"

Amata shook the offered hand but she gasped when her eyes fell on the seven foot creature standing in the middle of the room with it's arms crossed.

Rachel didn't miss a beat. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder still grinning, "Tall dark and harmless behind me is Charon. He's my travel partner and bodyguard,"

"Bodyguard?" Amata asked, wondering for a second who this woman was to need a bodyguard.

"Of course, the capitol wasteland is a dangerous place. Being a woman alone in the dessert is even more dangerous, right Charon?" She asked him.

"Being _harmless_ I'm not very effective for her protection," he rasped and Rachel laughed.

"Awe, Charon I didn't mean it. I know you're the most deadly thing on two legs,"

He nodded and Rachel turned back the wide eyed Overseer. "We were just gonna to go find some food, want to show us the way?"

Amata eyed Charon and for a second Rachel thought that the girl was going to forbid the ghoul from leaving the room. Instead she shook herself slightly and turned, telling them to follow. She didn't say much on the short walk to the cafeteria but she did point out the bathrooms and common area and explained the rules that were instilled in the vault.

It was a very basic list of places that were restricted and a few rules that were a basic don't steal anything or kill anyone. She didn't say anything about their weapons and Rachel was glad, she hated not being visibly armed.

The cafeteria was small and when they walked in every pair of eyes were on them. There were as many curious faces as there were frightened ones. A pair of weathered looking men both in leather armor where sitting at a corner table. One was nursing a whisky with his head down and the other was grinning directly at Rachel. When he caught her eye he waved them over and she nodded.

"You two don't look like you belong," she smiled as she settled into the seat next to the man she assumed was the trader.

"Precisely why I waved you over, wastelanders have to stick together," her grinned. Rachel instantly liked him. There was something about the man that made her glad he was here.

"What do you sell? I saw your Brahmin in the tunnel and bodyguards aren't usually so openly friendly,"

They both glanced over at their respective bodyguards. Both Charon and the other man were hunched over on the table. He growled in Rachel's direction in response to her remark and the man next to him silently took Crow's empty glass, filled it with amber liquid and slid it in the ghoul's direction. Charon took the offered drink with the barest hint on a nod and it was the end of the interaction on the other side of the table.

"I am Crow, seller the finest armor available on this side of the country; the spirits tell me you are interested,"

"Maybe after we eat, as you can see most my shirt was sacrificed in the line of duty," she gestured to her still bound arm.

"A more noble death a shirt could never have,"

A woman brought over four bowls of soup. She was blonde and smiled politely but she didn't linger. The four of them ate quickly, Rachel didn't know what was in it but it tasted fantastic. While they ate Rachel talked with Crow about the wasteland and the bodyguards kept their heads down.

* * *

Eyes on the other side of the room watched the group of outsiders. The only one that even looked like they'd put up a fight was the burn victim and looks could only get you so far. The man leaned back, focusing on the girl with a half empty whiskey bottle in his hand.

The red head was pretty, smiling at everyone. A girl that friendly would be easy to get alone. Slender and small with those tight clothes, she wouldn't be able to fight him off. She was just his type. She could use a little more in the chest area but her toned body and tanned skin made up for that.

_Overseer_ Amata stopped by the outsiders table and said something he couldn't hear. The people nodded and the girl said something that made Amata laugh. The girl lifter her bowl and drained the rest of the watery soup that was served for dinner, then she followed the overseer out of the room with that burn victim right behind her.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stood, following casually. He just needed to wait until the right moment presented itself.

* * *

"A shower?" Rachel asked, standing with Charon and Amata outside the woman's bathroom.

"Yeah? Don't they have showers outside?"

"Not that I've ever seen. I've only ever used bathtubs," Rachel told the surprised woman.

"Well if you want I could show you how everything works," the dark skinned overseer offered. "It will give us a chance to talk,"

Rachel shrugged, "Sure,"

Amata lead the way into the bathroom and frowned when she saw Charon standing silently behind Rachel. He looked scary as all hell but at the expression on his face was board. Rachel gave her a questioning look and asked, "What?"

Amata blushed, "Um, well…this is the _girls_ bathroom. Men aren't allowed in here,"

Charon blinked, of course vault conducted with pre-war social standards.

"Oh don't worry," Rachel said, waving her hand dismissivly, "Charon won't watch, he's not a pervert,"

"That's not exactly the problem…" Amata stammered, she'd never run into this kind of problem before and wasn't sure how to explain it. Charon put a big hand on Rachel's shoulder and when she looked up at him he nodded towards the door.

"I will stand guard outside. In Pre-war times men and women did not undressed around each other. If you need me you only have to call my name," he explained and he left to Amata's extreme relief. Rachel watched the door close and then turned back to her hostess.

"Weird," she sighed and propped her fists on her hips. "Anyway, what do we do now?"

Amata showed the girl the door that lead to the shower room and explained what the soap dispensers on the wall were and which ones were which. Rachel looked around. There were lockers set against the wall with the door and an open area with nozzles sticking out of the opposite wall.

"You can put your clothes and…um…_gun_… in a locker. Here," She pulled a fluffy white towel out on a cabinet and handed it over. Rachel took it and placed it down on the wooden benches in the middle on the room. The mirrors on the walls made the white tiled space look bigger than it was.

Amata unzipped her vault suit and undressed quickly, wrapping the towel around herself shyly with her back to her guest. Rachel wasn't sure she liked not having Charon or Claws in the room with her but she remained herself the big ghoul was only one moderately volumed scream away if she were attacked here.

Amata looked at the still dressed woman and frowned. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing, I'm just not used to being naked without Charon's gun in sight," Rachel shook off her unease and unbuckled her armor. Amata watch in mild shock. Rachel shamelessly slid off and armor padded jacket and pulled a pair of weather goggles off her head. Amata was surprised that she took her Pipboy off and then wondered where she'd gotten one in the first place.

The ripped and filthy shirt she was wearing was full of holes and caked with things Amata couldn't identify. Rachel stripped it over her head and tossed it unceremoniously onto the floor along with a bra that was stained with something brown that looked a lot like dried blood.

She kicked off her boots and her armored leather pants clinked when they hit the tiled floor. The last thing was a pistol strapped to her thigh. When she was naked she looked up and cocked an eyebrow at the other girl. "What?"

Her pale skin was covered in grime and what looked like old blood. She had a knotted scare half way between her hip and her knee that looked like it had been incredibly painful. She had a much fresher scar on her shoulder and a line of pink dots that ran down the right side of her body.

"That's a lot of scars,"

"There are more under the dirt," Rachel joked, not bothering to cover herself like Amata did. "Hazards of living in a dangerous world. Every one of my scares it a victory tale, because I survived," she told Amata, looking towards the shower heads. "So how do these work?"

Amata went to one of the knobs and turned it, causing a spray of water to shoot from the nozzle. She fiddled with the knobs and steam started to rise from the water. Amata gestured towards the water when she was satisfied and Rachel cautiously stuck her hand into the spray, her eyes widening. "It's hot?!"

"Is too hot?" she asked uncertainly but Rachel slid the rest of her body under the spray with awe spreading over her face. "If you want a hot bath in the wasteland you have to boil water in a pot and sponge bathe. Filling a tub with it is too much of a pain in the ass,"

Rachel looked at the reddish brown water circling the drain at her feet as Amata adjusted her own spray, steam quickly filling the room. Rachel pointed at her toes with a giggle, "look! That's weeks' worth of dirty just leaving!"

Amata laughed, sharing in her guest joy and she handed the enthusiastic woman a white wash cloth.

Rachel pumped liquid soap onto her cloth and scrubbed herself until her skin was pink. The endless hot water eased her sore muscles and filled her mind with a kind of bliss she'd never experienced.

With her hair full of something foamy called shampoo Rachel pointed to the holes on her torso that Amata kept glancing at. "These are bullet holes, I got then a few days ago."

"What! You got shot?"

"Oh yeah, I've been shot a ton of times. Like I said the open wasteland is a dangerous place,"

"Aren't there towns or somewhere safer for you to live?" Amata asked with wide eyes.

Rachel just waved her off, running the cloth over her skin for possibly the thousandth time. "I've never really been comfortable living in settlements. I get restless, I've never liked being around people for long amounts of time. There are towns I like going into to catch some sleep in a bed, maybe get patched up or have a stiff drink but I've never stayed anywhere for very long," She explained. "A couple months ago I did end up getting a house not far from here and it's nice but who know who long I'll stay,"

"Do you have parents?" She asked and then clapped her hand over her mouth, worried she might offend the other girl.

"I do, my farther lives in a town called Novac, it's a _very_ long walk from here. My mother died a few months ago and I guess I needed a change of scenery so I left. I've only been in the Capitol Wasteland a couple of months. Originally I'm from the New Vegas area."

"New Vegas?" Amata asked, remembering a similarly named place from her geography classes. "Like Los Vegas? You walked across the country!?"

"Yep,"

Amata bit her lower lip and then pointed, fascinated by this new comer. "What's that from?"

Rachel looked down at her thigh and sighed. "I pissed off something big and poisons. I was fifteen, stupid and careless. It almost killed me, it's a war story I'm not proud of."

"Oh, I shouldn't have asked," the overseer apologized.

"It's fine," Rachel told her, rinsing the suds from her hair. Amata had shown her a razor earlier and she picked it up for inspection. Usually Rachel used her combat knife when she wanted to shave but once she started Rachel wondered how she ever got by.

When Rachel was finally convinced she was clean her skin was pruny but she felt amazing. Amata laughed as the other girl marveled at her wet reflection.

"I don't think I've ever been this clean and not irradiated. Purified water is too precious in the wastes to bathe with so you never get all the dirt. Look! Even the blood under my fingernails is gone!" Rachel caught the towel Amata threw at her and she dried herself, amazed all over again when her skin was dry and the towel was still white.

"I don't want to put my cloths back on," Rachel admitted, standing naked next to her pile on dirty armor.

"You can wear a vault jumpsuit and give your clothe to laundry if you want too."

"No offence intended but I'd rather be naked then wear a vault suit," Rachel said in the politest tone she could manage. "I can have Charon get me something from Crow if I don't have anything in my bag,"

Rachel wrapped her towel around herself and finger combed her hair. She picked up her dirty clothes and slung her rifle over her shoulder, finally ready to leave the bliss of the shower room.

"You're leaving in a towel," Amata asked, Rachel had managed to shock her again.

"Yeah," She said like Amata was saying something foolish, "I'm going back to my room,"

"What if a _guy_ sees you?" She asked incredulously.

"So what if one dose? If they try anything I'll shoot 'em,"

"Please don't shoot anyone. The last time that happened I had to make a friend leave," she said, her voice turning unhappy.

"Little miss 101?" Rachel guessed sympatheticly.

Amata's head shot up, "You know Anna? Is she alright?"

Rachel took a step back and gave Amata an apologetic look. "I met her on road, we only spoke for a minute and we were headed in the opposite directions. She was heading towards New Vegas maybe…three months ago?"

"She left?" Amata asked miserably,

Rachel nodded, "From what I hear she had a lot of dark history here, sometimes people need to distance themselves,"

"I guess I always thought she'd end back here in the end. I needed time to calm down the vault. A lot of people blamed her and her father for something that happened the night they left. People thought because the door was opened that how the bugs got in but we know now that wasn't true. She even came back after a while and saved us,"

"She saved a lot of people out there too. The thing about heroes is that they can't help themselves. If she was as badass as everyone says then I don't think she'd ever settle back here," Rachel told the other girl gently. "It seems like life out there agreed with her though and once you're wastelander that never really leaves you. The thrill of a gunfight. The pride you get when you take down an angry super mutant. You know, the sun on your back and dust on your boots,"

Amata's eyes were glassy but she nodded, at least trying to understand. Rachel sighed and put her hands on her hips while she waited for Amata to dress.

"So what's up with Gomez? He's kind of a pussy here in the vault. All quiet and flinchy, did something happen?"

Amata shook her head, "No, he's always been like that, why?"

Rachel shrugged, "He was different outside. More confident or something, not nearly as much of a badass as _me_ but certainly more than now. Maybe he is claustrophobic?"

Amata laughed and followed Rachel to the door. Charon was leaning against the wall with his arm crossed. He looked at her and growled, very pointedly locking his eyes on her face.

"Rachel…where are your pants!" he demanded.

"There dirty. I was wondering if you could go ask Crow if he had any clean clothes?" she asked, unaffected by his surly attitude.

"Clean? What the hell make you think he'll have anything clean?"

"Well I've never been this clean and I want to stay this way as long as possible, Charon just do this for me real quick and then you can go shower too,"

"Rachel it is not tactically wise for me to disarm-"

"Charon I'll watch your door, it will be good for you to relax."

"Ray,"

"You're doing this even if I have to order you," She told him sternly. "You will get better faster,"

Charon glared at her. He would love a shower, but being naked in what he still considered dangerous territory wasn't something he was going to get excited about.

"_Fine_, you're the boss. But I'm not taking forty-five minutes like you did and I'm not leave you alone until you're locked in our room."

"What!" Rachel glared, not liking the idea for being grounded

"It's not safe,"

"Sure it is, I have a gun," Rachel grinned at him but he fixed her with a hard glare. "Oh fine, I'll lock the damn door. Happy?"

"Fucking ecstatic, let's go,"

Rachel waved goodbye to a speechless Amata and walked the short distant back to their room. Charon listened until he heard her lock the door and he left in search of the merchant. Rachel sighed and dropped her dirty clothes on the floor along with her boots.

She was just finishing running a comb threw her damp hair when there was a knock on the door. Rachel hit the button saying, "That was fast,"

"What was?" asked a young man she didn't recognize.

"Thought you were someone else, can I help you?"

The guy had to drag his eye back to her face, he didn't seem to be bothered at all that she was dressed only in a towel. "I think you can, where is your pet zombie,"

Rachel scowled, "You know, insulting my friend isn't the best way to get on my good side."

"I think that you should worry about getting on my good side," he told her in a quiet voice, stepping into the room and looking around. "Outsiders shouldn't be allowed here, if it wasn't for that bitch and her fucking dad none of this would have happened,"

Rachel slowly stepped back, her guns were on the bed and she had the sudden driving need to have them in her hands. "I think you've been drinkin' friend, why don't you turn around and leave me alone. Your vault isn't going to survive closed and I think you should put aside your personal vendettas,"

"You're pretty but you shouldn't have shown up. You shouldn't have helped the spaz, if he had died then everyone would have seen that my dad had been right!" he hissed and he pulled a 10mm out from inside of his vault suit.

"You don't want to pick a fight with me little boy," Rachel told him evenly, relieved then the back of her legs bumped into the bed. She gave him a smile and sat, crossing her legs at the knee. His eyes dropped to where the towel pulled away from her thigh and Rachel grabbed her pistol.

The guy gave a started and pointed his gun with a slightly shaky hand.

"Kid, what is trying to kill me going to do?"

"Wally, my name isn't kid. Nobody will know," he told her a little too calmly. "People will assume your zombie did it and you outsiders would be kicked out. The vault will be sealed and everyone will know my dad should have taken over as overseer,"

"_Oh_," Rachel whispered and smiled at him sweetly. "_I see_,"

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

Rachel rose to her feet, her gun aim at his head. "You're here with a little liquid courage trying to avenge daddy? I bet when that girl, I think her name is _Anna_, saved the vault she put a bullet in daddies brain,"

Rachel had a mean streak and she got a glorious wave of satisfaction when the kid in front of her turned red with rage. He tossed his gun to the side and lunged for her. Rachel dodged easily and punched him in the gut.

Wally stuck in a painful breath and Rachel glared. He lunged again and caught her ankle with his foot, she tripped and her pistol clattered a crossed the floor. Wally yanked her back and pinned her with her back to the floor.

Wally punched her and she snarled when his knuckles connected sharply with the right side of her face. Rachel jabbed two fingers into his jugular and he slapped her hard as he choked. Wally pinned her hands down and ripped the towel from her body, tossing it aside. The look her gave her was like a rabid dog looked at fresh meat.

"I was going to just shoot you but I think you deserve a reminder of who is superior," he whispered.

Fury shot threw her and she slammed her forehead into his nose when he leaned in close. It gave her a headache when the bone crunched but she decided it was worth it. Wally swore and slapped her again. He ignored his nose, letting blood pour on her skin while he ripped the zipper of his jumpsuit down.

"You're going to pay for my nose bitch," he snarled, yanking her to her feet and forcing her down on the bed.

"Not likely," she hissed and kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. Wally doubled over with a howl of pain. Rachel was on her feet as soon as her foot connected with the family jewels and she viciously brought her knee up to his forehead as he clutched his crotch.

Wally yelped again and fell down, bleeding on the floor.

Rachel stood over him, shaking with the adrenaline pumping threw her veins. She heard heavy boots running towards them and she looked up just as Charon burst through the still open door. He took in the half dressed man on the floor, his naked employer and the blood covering her skin and dropped the clothes on the floor.

"What the fuck happened," he roared, picking the whimpering man up and slamming him into the wall.

"Wally came to visit. He wasn't very polite and when he wouldn't leave I had to teach him some manners," Rachel told her friend as wiped away the blood with her towel and pulled on the clothes Charon had brought her. It was a simple merc grunt outfit and the shirt was a little tight but it was pretty clean for wastelander clothes.

"Charon will you grab put him outside? I'm fuckin tired all of the sudden and I want to go to bed." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"We should turn him over to security,"

"Do that then. I just want him out of my sight. Ow," she'd touched her throbbing temple.

"He gave you a black eye," Charon snarled, furious that someone had dared tough her and that he hadn't been there to prevent it. "Did he hurt you anywhere else?"

"No. none of this blood is even mine. I broke his nose,"

Charon chuckled darkly, proud of her and thinking of all the bones he wanted to break on the kid. Charon roughly grabbed a pressure point on his neck and guided Wally from the room, think about what kind of pain he could inflict without leaving a mark.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Don't freak out," She warned sternly and Crow cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Whatever it is you wanted to show me can't be that bad beautiful," he laughed. Rachel smiled. She didn't think he'd touch her without her permission and she didn't mind the nickname as long as his calloused hands stayed to themselves.

She'd woken up this morning with her head filled with steamy images or red rough hands on her skin and had thought about asking the handsome merchant to take care of her bedroom frustrations. She'd even brushed her hair and put on her favorite black tank top and torn jeans when they'd been returned from laundry but when Charon had commented offhand that her freshly cleaned cloths looked good her resolve broke. She'd even felt a little guilty.

In her head she converted what he'd said to "_you look sexy like that_," Rachel had never come up against a wall like this when it had come to men. She'd never had one that could indirectly compliment her appearance and ruin the target she'd set on another's back. Hell it had even crossed her mind that her might be developing _feelings_ but that thought had been banished quickly. She didn't get romantic feelings. They complicated things.

"Beautiful?" Crow asked, breaking her from her thoughts as they exited the tunnel that held the vault door. Outside the sun was still low in the sky and she realized it was only somewhere around nine in the morning.

Standing on the little hill looking over the wasteland Rachel lit a cigarette and offered one to her new friend politely. Charon and Crow's guard had gone to test the showers. They'd figured safety in numbers, neither one of them liking being in a vault full of strangers. Rachel had promised her ghoul that she'd stay out of trouble so as soon as he left she'd gone to find Crow.

"I have a pet," she began, choosing her words carefully. "And with Charon and I running around the wastes I think Claws needs some armor. I'd like to ask you if you'd lend your expertise. He's still very young so I'd be coming back to you for size adjustments."

Crow exhaled smoke with a good natured smile. "Of course, I think I'd be able to help. I'll need to take measurements of course, is it a dog?"

"He acts like one," she told him, "Remember, don't draw your weapon. I like Claws a lot more then I like people and I'd hate to have to shoot you."

Crow laughed and nodded. Poor bastard had no idea what he was agreeing too. Rachel put her fingers to her lips and whistled sharply. She decided whistling was a little safer then screaming his name in the middle of the wasteland.

Movement on the other side of a boulder a little ways away caught both of their attention and Rachel smiled as Claws yawned and stretched. He shook his head and trotted towards them, gleeful that his mother had returned. Crow had his hand on his gun, looking at the deathclaw with wide eyes. Claws looked at the new person with mistrust and skirted around him, trying to sniff his boots from a distance.

"That is a deathclaw," Crow said, looking at the smiling woman with wide eyes.

"I noticed," she chuckled. "You know, you're taking this a lot better than Charon did, and Claw was half this size then,"

"I- um…wait, _you're_ Angel?"

This time she laughed, "Been listenin' to Three Dog yap about me?"

"You disarmed the bomb in Megaton?"

She nodded, surprised the D.J knew about that.

"And you have a pet deathclaw_, right there_!"

"I do, and my deathclaw is in need of armor. I want him to be even harder to kill then a regular deathclaw," Rachel told the man while she patted a thigh with her hand. Claws gave up trying to sniff Crow and obediently came to her side.

Crow watched the red head affectionately scratch the top of the young deathclaws head and harrumphed. "And you have that big ass ghoul following you around. What's next? A Super mutant?"

Rachel laughed again, "Maybe. I do have a fondness for collecting large and incredibly deadly beings,"

Crow took a good long look at Claws and then blew out a long breath. "Alright, just because you're pretty. It's going to cost you though,"

Rachel nodded, "I figured. Why don't you do your measuring and we can talk about a price."

* * *

The shower had been pleasant but the ghoul couldn't shake the feeling that Rachel was going to end up in some kind of dire predicament if he wasn't there to stand guard. Last night had proved that it didn't take long for trouble to find his young employer.

Rachel had kicked the stupid kid's ass but had he been there he could have prevented the need. While dragging the boy to security office Charon hadn't been able to stop himself from giving the kid a swift punch in the gut.

He had been livid at the sight of his smoothskin naked and covered in blood. It had done things to him that he couldn't explain. His blood had boiled and he'd wanted nothing more than to reduce her attacker to a bloodstain on the floor. It had taken every ounce of self-control not too.

He'd never had a reaction like that to an employer being injured. In truth he'd always been inwardly smug. Thinking that if they would stay close it wouldn't have happened, that it was a small bit of karma paying back for the shit they'd done.

Charon sighed and dressed quickly. He nodded to the caravan guard as he left the bathroom. The guard, whose name turned out to be Dan, had showered first while Charon stood guard. The man nodded back and they went their separate ways as soon as Charon was out the door.

He decided he liked Dan, the man understood that chatter wasn't necessary and it had been easy for them to come to a silent agreement.

It took Charon three seconds when he entered their room to realize Rachel wasn't in it. Despite his best efforts a bubble of panic started to form in his chest and he turned on his heel, leaving again to look for her. A frightened looking blond girl said she saw Rachel heading outside with the other outsider and he growled. Of course she was _outside_, it was probably the most hazardous place she could find in the thirty minutes she'd been out of his sight.

Charon almost jogged to the cog shaped airlock, it was open and he rushed through, not even bothering to acknowledge the startled guards posted there. The tunnel was still dark but he could see a few dusty sunbeams filtering through the cracks of the wooden door.

The ghoul was maybe six feet from the battered door when he heard the unmistakable sound of Rachel giggling. Her bright giggles made him stop and listen…_for tactical reasons_.

"How did you manage to gain a beast like him, beautiful?" Crow asked, the nickname made Charon grind his teeth.

"He's not a beast, he's very nice. He's always been right at my side," Rachel chided, still giggling. "Right Claws?"

_Claws_. They were talking about the deathclaw. Charon sighed, half of him was disappointed that she wasn't defending her association with him. He'd always been there for her too. At least he tried to be. She seemed to be incredibly good at getting into trouble when his back was turned or he'd been ordered to stay back.

"Where are you headed next? I would be happy to escort you," Crow offered with an edge to his voice that made Charon think about how many ways he could kill the man with his bare hands.

"I don't know, probably a quick stop in Megaton and then off to explore the waste and all that. We need to make some caps so I can pay you,"

Pay him? For what? Charon realized that he was eavesdropping and straightened, ashamed. Rachel didn't belong to him and she could talk to whoever she wanted. His jealously wouldn't matter to her at all.

The ghoul blinked and nodded to himself, jealously was what he was feeling and that was disconcerting. Feeling towards the girl was going to complicate their association. Of course he couldn't distance himself from her, she had his contract so even if he did want to leave he was shit out of luck. He didn't want to leave her though. He liked the enthusiastic girl, she made life interesting.

He accepted that he was a ghoul so even if he did let on that he might be having feelings toward her she'd just feel awkward. There was no way she would want him in a romantic nature, what smoothskin would. He's seen ghouls drool of human that they'd never have and he'd silently mocked them for being stupid. Charon shook his head; he shouldn't have been so judgmental.

Charon sighed quietly and opened the door, blinking in the sunlight. Rachel smiled at him in a way that he wished she wouldn't, like she was happy to see him. He pushed away the thought that he might want her in a romantic way and glared at her.

"Charon! Cigarette?"

He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "You said you were going to stay in our room,"

Rachel grinned. "I said I'd stay out of trouble and out of trouble I have stayed. Besides, I want him to make armor for Claws and he had to take measurements,"

"Any sign of Talon Company?"

"Not a peep," She smiled and offered him a freshly lit cigarette anyway. Charon flicked his foggy blue eyes to hers and accepted it silently. Looking at her decide being in her service was enough, while he'd never felt anything towards and employer or anyone else of that matter he was sure he could keep that at bay. Next to them Crow clapped his hands together and put his worn measuring cord back in his pocket.

"I think I have everything I need, when it's complete I'll leave word in megaton," he told her lightly, sending a polite nod Charon's way before going back inside.

"He's so nice," Rachel murmured when he was gone. Charon didn't say anything but he did take an extra long drag, blowing the smoke from the nasal holes.

"Charon I think we should leave today," Rachel told him, looking off in the distance.

"Where would you like to go?"

"Crow told me about a town that's in a ship. I'd like to see that I think,"

"If we leave soon we can make it too Rivet City by nightfall. We wouldn't even need to resupply before heading out." He told her, thinking the faster they were away from the merchant the better.

"Alright, I'd like to take another shower and then we can go," she told him, turning towards the door.

"As you wish,"

* * *

Charon had their packs ready and Rachel's armor and weapons laid out when she came through the door wearing the jeans and tank top she kept in her bag. The vault laundry service had worked wonders on her cloths.

"Charon, I want a shower like the ones here at home,"

He chuckled, "I'm sure you're going to have a fun time trying to get Walter to fix your house up with plumbing and hot water,"

"Our house," she corrected absently, "I wonder if I can at least get an air gun thing for my hair. I just used one and they are amazing,"

"They are called _blow dryers_, I believe" he told her, shouldering his shotgun.

"How do you know?" she asked curiously, switching out her jeans for her armored leather pants. "Will you toss me the duct tape?"

"Here," he tossed her the silver grey roll that she always kept in a convenient side pocket on her bag. "I had two younger sisters,"

Rachel head snapped up like a deathclaw catching the scent of fresh blood. Charon had frozen, his patchy hands half way through fastening his armor. He hadn't thought of his sister much over the last two hundred years and he'd _never_ mentioned them.

"You had sisters?"

"I did," he told her roughly, "a long time ago,"

Rachel got the hint and dropped her eyes, patching another hole in her pants with the sliver tape. "Oh, yeah of course. I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry."

"It's alright smoothskin, I'll tell you about them sometime,"

"Okay," Rachel said softly, fight back her curiosity for now.

There was a knock on the door, break the almost uncomfortably awkward silence and Rachel immediately went to answer it. Freddie was on the other side and his face fell when he saw them in armor.

"You're leaving already?"

"You know how it is Gomez," Rachel told him happily, letting him into the room. "Places to go, raiders to kill, stuff to loot,"

Charon snorted, glad she'd been distracted. Rachel grinned at his back before putting her hands on her hips and looking Gomez over. "Haven't gone back to the vault suit I see."

Gomez blushed and looked at his feet, suddenly self-conscious. "n-no, I like pants a lot better than the jumpsuits. I guess I decided I was going to wear them until someone asked me not too,"

Charon snorted, finally turning to look at him. "You're never gonna get that girl acting like a pussy,"

"Charon!" Rachel scolded, but he waved her off.

"Kid, if you want that girl find the backbone you had in the wastes and kiss her like a man," the ghoul commanded. "Kiss her and walk away, if she liked it she'll come find you,"

Gomez took a deep breath and straightened, nodding.

Rachel shook her head, "If he does that he'll probably spook her and be arrested in here. Women today don't want to just be grabbed and man handled," she argued,

Charon growled and grabbed Rachel's wrist. He sprung her around as she gasped as he shoved her against the wall, pinning her there his body. He had her hands pinned on either side of her head with his mouth only an inch her neck.

Rachel looked up at him with wide eyes, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning when he shift and his armored his knee moved between her legs.

An involuntary shiver ran her spine when his warm breath tickled the skin below her ear. Charon realized what he was doing and let go of her. He crossed her arms over his chest, suddenly incredibly glad for the heavy leather that hid his erection, and rasped, "Do it just like that and you'll be fine,"

Freddie looked at Rachel who was still leaning against the wall in something like shock. Saw the boy looking at her and she nodded. "Yeah, that should be _just fine_," _it's not going to do anything to get rid of my wet dreams though._

At least steamy sexy time with her stoic ghoul friend was better than executing loved ones every night. You could only mercy kill your mother so many times before you snap. She still woke up frustrated and ill rested but in a different way at least.

Gomez nodded and he left after a quick _good bye, see ya next time_.

Rachel ran a hand through her short hair and let out a long breath. Charon shoulders his pack and busied himself with his already immaculate shotgun, avoiding her eyes. It didn't matter because she was avoiding his too.

For one brief second the girl considered going to take another _colder_ shower but there was no way she could do it without being obvious. Instead she lifted her own bag and silently lead the way out the door. Rachel had been intending to just leave but Amata was in the vault door control room and she frowned when she saw them.

The dark girl stepped forward with her hands clasped and it took her a second to meet Rachel's eyes.

"I- I want to apologize. I had no idea Wally was still so bitter towards outsiders, had I know I would have asked security to keep a close eye on him. Did he- _hurt_ you?" She asked worriedly.

Rachel just shook her head, she'd used a stimpak on her eye while Charon had been dealing with the boy and it had taken care of the other little bruise she'd received.

"Not nearly as bad as I hurt him. He had better not underestimate me again," she warned the overseer, "I do plan on dropping in every now and then and if he tries to force himself on me again I'll kill him. The only reason he's alive is because I promised you I wouldn't shoot anyone while we were here,"

Amata saw the very real warning in the girl brilliant golden eyes and she nodded, swallowing to loosen her suddenly tight throat. "I understand. You don't have to leave though, he will be in lockup all week if that's what is causing your sudden departure."

Charon snorted and Rachel laughed at the absurdness of it. "Not at all, it's just time to move on. Your doctor did a wonderful job and we both healed much faster than expected. We are just the kind of people that don't stay put for long without a reason,"

"Of course," Amata smiled politely and walked them to the end of the tunnel. She herself had never been outside but she didn't want that change to be today, she had things to do. So when they reached the battered wooden door she said goodbye and left them, the light from the door lit up the tunnel and then their wasteland guests were gone. She'd miss them. They had made life in the vault much more exciting in the couple days they'd been there.

* * *

"Charon is that it?" Rachel asked, pointing to the giant aircraft carrier as they rounded a building.

"Yes,"

"It so –"

"Talon Company!" a male voice shouted making Rachel jump. Charon already had his shotgun aimed. "You, girl! What's your name?"

"Gretchen, who's askin'?"

The man in black armor shook his head and looked from Rachel to Charon. He didn't seem to notice Claws sniffing around the rubble off to the left.

"I think you're lying," He said and they opened fire.

Both Charon and Rachel dove for cover and Rachel yelled angrily, "If you weren't going to believe me why did you fuckin' ask!"

The men just laughed making the girl swear more.

Charon fire two shots from the rock outcropping where he was and looked over at her. "Gretchen?"

"Oh fuck off," She fired over the hood of an old car. Thankfully she noticed that the engine was gone so this one shouldn't explode. "It was the first thing that popped into my head,"

Charon and Rachel made short work of the two closest men and Claws finished off the third. Rachel found another contract to capture her along with some psycho on the leader and Charon found thirty caps on another.

"So we've run into two of these groups…this is going to get to be a pain in the ass I can already tell," she growled, picking up a second combat shot gun to fix the one she'd found the other day.

"Talon Company has never seemed to have a shortage of assholes," Charon agreed as they left the dead men where they had fallen.

"_Great_, you think there is any way to find out who hired them?" She asked and Charon shrugged.

"We can worry about that later. We need to resupply before we go hunting,"

Together they approached the ship after Rachel sent Claws off to hide. There was a caravan just leaving with a Brahmin loaded with yellow barrels. Rachel assumed this was the Aqua Pura she'd heard about.

They pasted a woman in combat armor looking over paper work at a desk and headed up iron stairs. At the top of the stairs was a platform and on the other side of open air there was the door to the ship.

After handing off a bottle of purified water to a beggar Rachel hit the intercom button and a male voice came through the speaker. "State your business in Rivet City,"

"We're travelers looking to resupply,"

"We?" the voice asked professionally.

"Yes, there are two of us. Myself and my partner," Rachel told the intercom.

"Thank You, Please stand back while we lower the bridge," and the intercom clicked off.

The sound of straining metal and machinery filled the air and the bridge was slowly swung into place. Rachel glanced up at Charon and he cocked the reminisce of an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You didn't tell them I was a ghoul,"

"Nope, I didn't think it was important," She said but a smirk curled her lips and he chuckled.

"If they shoot at us?" he asked, amused.

"Then of course we will be shooting back, besides, you're a giant and the reactions people have to you are never disappointing," she grinned as they stepped onto the bridge.

"So you set people up on purpose, for your amusement?" Charon was gaining a whole new respect for his little smoothskin. He also enjoyed the way people caught a glimpse of him and their eyes widened in fear but he hadn't known Rachel allowed him that pleasure on purpose.

"Yes, yes I do," She smiled sweetly at the guards as they approached. It was a smile Charon now recognized as one she used to dare people to challenge her. She had a similar one she used to make men melt and bend to her will. She never directed one of those at him, instead the smile he got was affectionate. That curve of her lips was filled with acceptance and trust. He'd never been looked at like that before but he did enjoy it from her.

Behind their helmet visors Charon saw the widening of eyes and the two guards shifted uncomfortably. He kept his face stoic but inwardly he allowed himself a smug feeling of satisfaction.

"H-halt," a woman said, stepping forward. "You didn't say you were with a ghoul,"

Rachel allowed her smile to become confused. "I didn't know it was something important. I didn't see a sign posted that ghouls weren't allowed, did I miss one?" she asked, ringing her had worriedly. Charon saw the gleeful spark in her eyes when he looked at her and had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. She was fucking with them.

The guard exchanged looks and the woman shook her head. "No it's not a rule exactly, it- he's not feral is he?"

Rachel shook her head, babbling like the silly little thing she was pretending to be. "What? Oh no, no. at least…I don't _think_ so." Rachel looked up at Charon with big childlike eyes. "You aren't feral are you Charon?"

"Not today mistress," he answered evenly and the guards exchanged another wide eyed look.

"Well, just keep him out of trouble miss, Have a nice stay in Rivet City,"

Rachel clasped her hands in front of her sweetly. "Thank you, we will. Have a wonderful day,"

The guard finished by telling her that the market was closed for the night and directed her to take the door to her left. They closed the door firmly behind them and Rachel started to giggle. She looked up at him with that trusting smiled and slapped him on the forearm with the back of her hand. "I'm glad you're not feral _today_," she gasped, dissolving back into giggles.

Charon chuckled, delighted that he'd caused her to laugh like that. "I thought it would please you if I left it open, since fucking with them was making you so happy,"

Rachel gasped again and got herself under control. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show,"

She looked at the signs on the wall and glanced both up and down the stairs. She chuckled again and studied the signs. "So what do you want to do first tall, dark and not feral today? Go get a room at that hotel or head down to the Muddy Rudder. I assume that's a bar," She asked him.

Charon smirked at the long nick name she used for him and glanced at the signs. "I would like to secure a room first. So when you're cocked later I know where I'm carrying you,"

Rachel nodded, heading up the first set of stairs. "You don't know I'm going to get drunk tonight,"

"Yes I do," he chuckled. "You've had a long week and now have access to an active bar that's going to have other drunken people in it. You're going to want to have some fun. If history serves I'm going to end up carrying you over my shoulder sometime after midnight."

Rachel laughed but she didn't argue. He was right. "What did I do before you were around to carry me?"

"Probably curled in a ball in a corner somewhere, unless you tricked some poor bastard into sharing his bed," he was teased her. Rachel laughed giving the ghoul another wave of satisfaction for enticing that sound out of her.

"Hey," she grinned at him with mock indignation, "If he was sharing his bed he fuckin' wanted too. I'm a fantastic lay even if it has been awhile,"

"Are you sure you still know what you're doing?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Rachel's grin turned cocky, "It's like shootin' a rifle, you never really forget,"

Charon gave a single bark of laughter as they approached the desk and forced down the urge to ask exactly how long it had been for her. They were too close to the women at the desk to not be heard and he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to start talking to his smoothskin about sex.

The pretty blonde woman looked up from her soft conversation with a dark haired woman as they approach. Her eyes widened but she smiled politely. "Hello, I'm Vera Weatherly. How can I help you?"

"We need a room," Rachel told her, her voice still laced with the amusement form their conversation as she pulled the cloth bag she kept her rolls of caps in.

Vera's eye widened more and she looked between the pretty wastelander and the ghoul. "Just _one_ room?"

Charon force down a growl and Rachel cocked an eyebrow. "Unless you're will to give a second one for free, or maybe on credit. We won't be able to sell off our salvage until the Market opens tomorrow,"

Vera shook her head, "Oh no, I just wanted to make sure I understood," the women looked at each other and Rachel bit her tongue to keep from saying something bitchy. She'd learned over the years that you should never be a bitch to anyone until after you'd paid them. You didn't want prices to go up.

Vera wrote in her log book and placed a key on the counter, "It's one hundred and twenty caps for the room and check out is at two tomorrow afternoon. It's the first door on the right."

Rachel counted out the caps and took the key with a thank you. She led the way to their room and closed the door again quickly behind them.

"Well, the whole ship's going to know our sleeping arrangements by morning," Rachel laughed.

"Does it bother you?" Charon asked seriously as he dropped his pack on the steel floor. "I will be happy to stand guard outside the room for the night."

"What?" she turned and dropped her own pack on the bed. "Absolutely not. You don't need to stand outside all night for their sake,"

Charon frowned. He didn't want to tarnish her reputation among the humans here any more than he did by simply being at her side.

"Are you sure Rachel? Humans in the Capitol Wasteland don't respond to humans and ghouls interacting well, it will cause problems for you if they think we are sleeping together."

Rachel waved him off, "It's not exactly different in the Mojave. They would think we're fucking even if we did get two rooms. I don't care what they think and if anyone starts shit then I will very politely tell them to fuck off,"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

She could feel eyes on her, Charon was leaning against the far wall with a cigarette but she was used to his gaze. Rachel took another swig of her half empty whisky bottle and scanned the room from her stool at the bar.

The Muddy Rudder was packed and most everyone seemed to be having a good time. She was too, listening to everyone and laughing. Rachel shifter her eyes up and spotted a young man through the smoke in the air looking at her from the balcony.

When their eyes met he flashed her a smile, Rachel took a drag and blew a smoke ring in his direction, giggling. He chuckled and crooked his finger, motioning her to come up to where he was.

She nodded and stood, looking in Charon's direction. When she caught his eye she motioned that she was going up stairs and he nodded. Rachel slid around a few people and bounced up the stairs, she defiantly had a good buzz going.

The man was waiting for her at the top of the stair and he flashed another white smile. Rachel's eyes flicked over him. He had weird hair, she decided. He also had really nice teeth and a black leather jacket on over a blue vault suit.

"Hey," she said, raising her voice so he could hear her over the din of people, "We just came from that vault!" she giggle some more and took his hand, leading him to a table near the edge of the balcony so Charon would be able to see her. She didn't want him to freak out and think she'd been kidnapped.

"You've been to vault 101?" he asked, surprised.

Rachel took another drag of her cigarette and nodded happily, "yep, I was. We was! Me and Charon,"

Okay, maybe she was a little more than buzzed at this point.

"How'd you get in? I thought the door was going to stay sealed,"

Rachel swallowed her mouthful of whiskey and shook her head. "Not anymore, we spent the night there." Before the man in front of her could comment she scowled. "Some vault asshole lookin for revenge against the outside tried to fuckin' fuck me against my will there. Wally…_that_…that was his name I think, but don't worry. I kicked his ass, _every_…everybody else there was nice,"

"Wally really did that? Well he's always been an asshole, names Butch," he grinned and she laughed.

"That's a weird name, It matches you're hair,"

Butch chuckled, not sure what she meant. "You're kinda drunk ain't ya' baby doll?"

"_A lil' bit_, but you're wrong, 'bout my name. My name's Rachel!"

"You stayin' here tonight?" he asked and Rachel nodded, sipping her whiskey. When she didn't answer Butch pressed, "Where?"

"The _Weather_…Weatherly Hotel. We got a room there before we came here,"

Rachel picked up two shot glasses that were on the table and inspected them. They looked about as clean as anything else in the wasteland so she pour two shots from her bottle and pushed one towards Butch.

He took it asking, "Who's _we_ beautiful?"

"_We_ is me and Charon,"

"Who's she? Your sister?" he asked hopefully as he stole a glance at the red heads cleavage peeking out of her black tank top.

"No, Charon's…he's my bodyguard, he's a good guy," she slurred with a grin, scanning the crowd below them. When she spotted the large ghoul she jumped up onto the railing and pointing, leaning dangerously far over the railing. "That's him!"

Charon tensed when he saw his employer leaning so far over the railing and he motioned for her to get back, she did. And he relaxed.

Rachel settled back into her seat and saw the look of disgust that flashed over her drinking buddies face.

"You don't mean the maggot farm do you?" he sneered, and looked at her in time to see her face turn from happy drunk to pissed the fuck off.

"Yes, I mean the _Ghoul_. Don't go fuckin' judgin' them, most ghouls are a lot more decent then most humans out there!" she pulled his empty shot glass back to her side of the table. "And bigots don't get free drinks from me!"

Charon watched his employer talk to the vault kid on the upper level. Apparently he'd said something she didn't like because her face got angry and the guy put his hands up in a sign of surrender. He said a couple of things to her and she settled down.

Good, he didn't want to have to kick anyone's ass tonight and risk having to deal with a drunken Rachel while in the middle of the D.C ruins. He gave it more thought and shuddered. Rachel pissed off from getting kicked off the ship would be bad. Drunk off her ass and armed with a shotgun and a deathclaw would be oh so much worse.

He saw Rachel turn her head and smile at him while she talked at the kid. It must have been a compliment because the man wrinkled his nose while she wasn't looking.

Rachel turned back to Butch with a smile. "How long since you were in the vault?"

"I don't know, a year?"

"And you're still wearing your vault suit? Don't you have trouble whit that out in the waste?"

"Nah, I live here. I'm a barber see,"

Rachel laughed and drained her bottle.

Butch watched her throat move and cleared his own. "So, how'd someone as pretty as you end up traveling with a ghoul?"

"He's got a _big_ _gun_," Rachel told him, waggling her eyebrow suggestively and she laughed at the look on his face. "I mean _really_, Charon's got a beautiful custom combat shotgun. There ain't nothin' he and I can't kill!"

Butch told Rachel to wait and he quickly retrieved another bottle of whisky from the bar. When he came back Rachel was leaning over the edge of the railing while she looked at her Pipboy.

Butch opened the bottle and leaned next to her, cocking his eyebrow when she talked into the device on her arm.

"I'm not gonna to fall _mother hen_,"

Butch was going to ask what she was talking about when the speaker on the Pipboy crackled and a rough voice growled, "I mean it smoothskin, stop leaning over the railing and sit your ass down,"

Butch followed her gaze and realized it was the ghoul. He was talking into something strapped to his wrist in time with the voice in the speaker. His Pipboy didn't do that, what the fuck?

"Fine," Rachel pulled the chair around with her foot and sat, "Happy?"

"Marginally, let me know when you want to leave,"

Rachel giggled, "Ten-four good buddy!" Butch saw the ghoul roll his eyes and snickered as he poured them both a generous portion of amber liquid.

"Here," he said, sliding it over and Rachel grinned.

"Why thank you good sir,"

Charon kept an eye on her while she talked and drank with the vault kid. How she kept bumping into these idiots was a mystery but at least this one wasn't asking to travel with them…_yet_.

Rachel stayed seated for maybe twenty minutes but when Mighty Mighty Man started playing she jumped up and hauled the man to his feet. Charon felt a stab of jealousy as she made the kid dance with her but he dismissed it. It would take a direct order for him to dance and he wouldn't be happy about it.

He could tell from the way her lips moved that she was singing along with the songs. She made the kid get up and dance with her whenever something fast came on over the radio, she didn't dance to anything slow and that pleased him. It meant she didn't want to cuddle up to Mr. 101, she just wanted someone to jump around with her.

Once, while Mr. 101 was getting them another bottle, Rachel tried to get him to come up.

"Not a chance smoothskin," he told her viva communicator.

"Please, you don't have to dance with me, just hang out," she tried to coax but Charon knew better.

"No, you're trying to trick me,"

"Charon!" she wined

"Look behind you, kids back with whiskey," he told her.

Rachel turned and grinned as he offered her a full glass. Charon sighed, she'd been successfully distracted and with the kid buying her drinks she wasn't spending any of her own caps.

Charon waited until the bar started to empty out, by his guess it was around three in the morning and Rachel was very close to done. He glanced up and found his drunken employer easily. Butcher Pete was on and Rachel was dancing with her knew friend.

Rachel stumbled and the guy caught her. She laughed, clinging to his arms for balance. He laughed with her as his eyes traveled over her body. Charon saw the kids hand travel down her waist and rest low on her hip. The ghoul gritted his teeth and stood slowly, heading for the stairs. It was defiantly because Rachel needed her rest and _not_ because he wanted the fuckin vault boy to get his hands _off_ her.

He heard Rachel giggling when he was half way up the stair and the kid say, "So beautiful, wanna take this party back to my place?"

"_Sure_," she was slurring a little and Charon didn't like the way the guy had pulled her close. "But only if Charon can come too, h- he likes to know where I am," she added much to Butch's displeasure.

Charon crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.

The kid glared over the top of her head but Rachel grinned when she saw him, "_Chaaron_! Butch wants us to go to a party, do ya wanna come?"

"I think he doesn't want me there," the ghoul rasped, glaring back at the kid. Butch wrapped an arm around her waist and Charon growled softly.

Rachel shook her head, "_that's_, that's not true. Right?"

"I was kinda thinkin' it _would_ be just you and me beautiful," he admitted and she frowned.

"_Oh yeah_, you don't like _ghouls_. Well I am sorry sir but I dun…I dun party without Charon," She tried to pull away but Butch tightened his grip,

"Come on, don't be like that baby," he purred but Rachel shook her head, he didn't give up. He thought she'd be a sure thing after that second bottle, "I've been hangin' out with you all night, buying you drinks and dancin' with you. Come back to my place to play with the Butch man,"

"Sorry, ba' I told _you_. I only party whit _Charon_," She insisted,

The ghoul smirked and Butch scowled. "What? Don't you want a guy that can get it up? Come on and I'll show you what being with a _real man_ is like,"

Understanding dawn on her and Rachel scoffed, "I can't fuck you today…your hair is too weird,"

She said it in an incredibly serious tone and Charon snorted. Butch blinked at her and she twisted out of his grip while he was distracted. Rachel tripped over her feet but this time it was Charon who caught her. The big ghoul scooped her up in his arms and she laughed.

"Charon, ur…ur just like a...a _mountain with words_," Rachel laughed harder and Charon nodded.

"I know, thanks' smoothskin,"

Rachel nodded, "You are indeed quite welcome my good man,"

"Hey," Butch scowled but Charon took a threatening step forward,

"The lady said fuck off," he growled.

"Yeah, _fuck off_. I don't fuck bigots," she was still giggling but Charon stair the kid down until he put his hands up in defeat, cursing under his breath.

Charon sent a last glare in his direction and carried Rachel out of the bar. She told him she could walk but he knew that it would take them an hour to get to their room if he set her down.

"I'm sorry," Rachel told him as she yawned.

"For what smoothskin?" he asked, glaring at a couple of people when they started to whisper as he walked by with the girl in his arms.

"That guy was fun to drink with but he was a ass to you," she stretched in his arms and settled against his barrel chest. "Next time we will hang out someplace where you can have fun too. Maybe tomorrow we can go to Underworld. I'm sure willow would love to cuddle up to you, she asked me to let you off your leash you know. I was gonna anyway but it was nice she was concerned about you. You're real good at your job but you got to have fun to, you deserve to get laid and fuckin' drunk too." she rambled.

Charon grunted in way of answer, not that he disliked Willow but he didn't want to use her like Butch had been intending to use Rachel. He put her down when they reached their room. He couldn't get the door unlocked while holding her. He did keep a firm grip around her waist to her upright while he unlocked their door.

Rachel took a step across the thresh hold but she tripped on the lip of the doorway and pitched forward. Charon yanked her back against him and scooped her up again. He kicked the door closed again and carried her to bed, setting her down gently. Rachel fell backwards and sighed, her legs still dangling off the edge of the mattress.

Charon sighed and got to one knee, taking off her boots and socks for her gently. Rachel fiddled with her Pipboy and turned on a song Charon recognized from a long time ago.

"_Someday he'll come along…the man I love…"_ she sang along softly, wiggling her toes when they were free. She had a wonderful singing voice, it was low and sultry when she sang along with these kinds of songs. It fit well. _"And he'll be big and strong…the man I love…and when he comes my way…"_

Rachel put her foot on his chest playfully and he pushed it away. "Charon, have you ever been in love?"

"No, go to sleep"

"I'm not tired. Neither have I,"

Charon shifted her so that she was lying fully on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. Rachel's eyes drifted closed and she murmured something he didn't hear as she rolled onto her side, facing him.

"Good night smoothskin," he whispered. She made a noise that sounded like it was supposed to be _night_ and he shook his head. Even if Butch had gotten her to go with him she'd have passed out before he got to do anything.

He looked around the room, there was only the one bed but that wasn't a problem. He moved to the other side of the room and sat against the door with his shotgun in his lap. He'd slept like this many times and now it didn't bother him at all.

Charon looked at Rachel sleeping form on the bed and shook her head, hoping she'd be able to sleep through the night. He hadn't seen the poor woman get a full night's sleep in all the time they'd been together.

* * *

Rachel snapped her eyes open and looked around. It took her a few seconds to figure out where she was and a few more seconds to figure out why. She'd never been the kind of person that blacked out and she did remember everything up to the point where Charon had tucked her in.

She smiled, her brain still swamped with booze. Rachel closed her eyes again in the dark room but it felt like the whole ship was turning on its side. Somewhere way back deep in the slightly more sober part of her brain she knew she had vertigo but she still didn't like it.

Rachel's eyes found Charon sitting against the door and she furrowed her brow, leaning towards the edge of the mattress to get a better look at his shape. She could hear him snoring lightly but the whole situation confused her drunken mind.

_Why is Charon sleeping on the floor? That can't be comfortable_. She sat up slowly and waited a few second for the room to stop spinning. _Awe, he gave me both blankets, he's got to be cold. _

_Charon dose look cold. _She replied to herself in her mind.

_I should give him one of these blankets._

_That would be a nice thing to do, he does take such good care of you._

Rachel moved to the edge of the bed and slid quietly to the floor, not wanting to disturb her sleeping friend. She looked down at herself and scowled at her pants. She hated sleeping in pants.

It took her a minute but she got the offensive garment off and tossed them up onto the bed. Once she was free standing up seemed like way to much work so instead she crawled on her hands and knees towards the sleeping ghoul.

_He's sleeping with his gun on his lap._

_That's doesn't seem safe._

_I'll just move it for him._

Very carefully she lifted the weapon from his lap and she was pleased that she hadn't disturbed him when he didn't move at all. She gently set the shotgun down a couple feet away and looked at him now that she could see more detail.

His arms were crossed over his chest and he had one leg stretched out straight while the other was bent at the knee. He looked more relaxed then she'd ever seen him, there was even a small smile on his lips.

_I should give him a little kiss goodnight, that's what you do when you tuck some in right?_

_He didn't kiss you._

_Maybe he doesn't know you're supposed to?_

_I feel like…this is a bad idea._ She frowned

_Why?_

_I…I can't think of a reason. I just feel like he wouldn't like it._

_Really?_

_Yeah, he would probably want you be awake. _

_You're right. I'll just have to wait for him to wake up._

Rachel looked back at the bed but deemed if too far way to wait for him to wake up. She might even fall back asleep and miss him. It didn't occur to her at all that that didn't really make any sense or that she'd just had an entire conversation with herself.

Instead of starting the long a perilous journey back to her bed she crawled onto him and settled with her body between his legs and her head resting on his thigh. She pulled the blanket over the both of them and closed her heavy eyelids with a relived little sigh, listening to the distant sound of his stead heartbeat.

* * *

The first thing Charon noticed when he started to wake up was that his thigh was incredibly warm. He reached out to touch the spot where his shotgun was warming him but his finger didn't find the smooth and familiar butt of his gun.

Charon's eyes flew open and her jerked when his gazed landed on Rachel sleeping soundly in his lap. She grumbled and tightened her arms, which Charon noticed, were wrapped around his leg like she was holding a teddy bear.

For almost a full minute his brain stalled. He had never woken up like this. He had no idea how she had gotten there without waking him up. He'd never been a heavy sleeper. The girl must be quiet as all hell. She'd even managed to move his shotgun and that was a mystery all in itself.

He looked her over, and blinked, she was still in the tight black tank top but her pants were gone. _Again_. He'd never seen anyone lose their pants like Rachel seemed too. He looked around the small room but he didn't see the dark jeans she'd been wearing when he put her to bed. He sighed, moving on to more pressing matters.

"Smoothskin," Charon rasped, glad that she was sleep but not thrilled about her location.

Rachel growled and snuggled her face into his thigh. The action made the ghoul jump and press into the steel door when her head rubbed dangerously close to a place he really didn't think she should be rubbing.

Rachel slapped her hand against his thigh and growled louder, annoyed that she was being disturbed. Charon growled back and got ahold of himself. He shifted and got his arms around her. It was a little difficult to lift her from this position but he managed.

He set her gently back onto her bed but when he tried to straighten Rachel wrapped her fingers around his wrist. He stood there for a couple seconds but she didn't let go. Instead she pulled his hand close to her and cuddled his forearm.

He sighed in defeat and maneuvered onto the bed with her. He was able to drape the arm she had ahold of over her waist and lay comfortably on the other side of her. He did notice that he wasn't doing a great job trying to emotionally distance himself from the girl.

Rachel sighed in her sleep and his skin prickled where her breath floated across his hand. Just as the prickling started to subside Rachel softly pressed her lips to the place just under his thumb and he froze. It was so soft he might have imagined it but he didn't think he had.

Charon stayed frozen in place for maybe a half an hour before Rachel let go of his arm. He sighed in relief but it was sort lived because she stretched and rolled over to face him, her eyes fluttering open.

She blinked a couple times while he tried to remember how to breathe and then she frowned.

Charon swallowed, not sure exactly how to explain why he had been spooning her. "I-um…you were…"

Rachel slowly sat up and stretched her back, Charon heard her spine pop a few times and she sighed sleepily. The girl looked around and her brows knit together. She looked at him and he gulped, awaiting her fury, he'd spooned her against her will. She wouldn't ignore that.

"_Charon_…?" she asked slowly, "How…why are we in the bed?"

"I apologize mistress, you were on the floor when I woke up and-" he fumbled but Rachel waved her hand, silencing him.

"We are gonna circle back to the mistress thing," she told him as she ran a hand threw her hair, "I know about all that, I was drunk and you looked cold and crawled over to give you a blanket," she explained while she rubbed her eyes. "Then the bed was too far away so I stayed with you…"

She blushed and bit her lower lip sheepishly, "But how did we get to the bed and why were we spooning?" she added.

Charon would have been blushing if the skin that still clung to his cheek wasn't essentially attached leather. "You were sleeping on me so I attempted to move you back you your bed when you refused wake up. But you grabbed onto my arm and since you were finally sleeping soundly I didn't want to wake you, so I simply allowed you to hold onto me,"

Rachel smiled at him tenderly and his stomach did a little flip, "Thank you. I was dreaming you know. I was falling but I managed to grab onto something and then everything was okay. It's hard to explain. I wasn't seeing just feeling," Rachel looked away and swung her leg over the edge on the bed. "Do we have any water? I got some fuckin' cotton mouth like you wouldn't believe,"

Charon chuckled and got up, rifling threw her pack. When he found a full bottle he handed it to her and watched her gulp the liquid.

"Ray?" He asked when the bottle was empty.

"Yeah?"

"Now that I know how you ended up on top of me and I know you're not angry I would like to know something?"

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Where in the fucking wastes are your pants?"

* * *

**~Sits at the top of the stairs next to Carlos at the entrance to Rivet City~ **

**Carlos:**_ Please...water..._

**ME:** _Please...Reviews..._.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"That was so good! It's been ages since I've had eggs," Rachel beamed, almost skipping up the rusted stairs.

"I'm glad you are having a good morning," Charon almost smiled while he followed her, they been aimlessly wandering around the ship for an hour but he didn't mind.

"I'm glad you're having a good morning too," she spun and walked backwards down the hall. "I saw that look on or face when you bit into that steak,"

Charon gave her a smirk, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

Rachel got a few rogue butterflies in the pit of her stomach as she looked up at him and turned back around so he wouldn't see the blush that was threatening to spread over her cheeks.

"_So_," she drawled, "What should we do next?"

"You don't want to spend more time on the ship?" He asked, surprised. She'd been amazed when she'd seen it.

Rachel shrugged, "It's cool but I'm over it." She glanced around to see if anyone was close and lowered her voice. "Honestly all the narrow halls and synthetic lights remind me of the vaults,"

Rachel subconsciously let her hand drift to her scared shoulder and Charon nodded his understanding. He agreed that the ship felt a little claustrophobic and he was ready to be back out in the wastes.

Rachel turned a corner and bumped into someone. A young woman stumbled back and fumbled for the pistol at her waist. Charon yanked Rachel's back against his chest and aimed his shotgun over his smoothskin's head with a glare.

The Asian woman looked down the barrel of his gun and her eyes started to well with tears. "Ar- are you working for Alistair Tenpenny?" She asked Rachel in a quivering voice.

Rachel frowned, "No, should I be?"

The woman whimpered before she turned and fled, disappearing in the ships network of halls.

Rachel blinked a couple times and tipped her head up to look at Charon, "Well…that was weird. What do you think it was about?"

The big ghoul shrugged, releasing his grip on the girl and putting his gun away. He didn't want to lie to her but he didn't want to tell her that the girl was probably an escaped slave from Tenpenny Tower. He'd heard things about the man and none of them were good. Rachel would want to go poke around and since the tower was _No Ghouls Allowed_ he wouldn't be able to protect her. "Whatever it is it's not our problem,"

"I guess you're right. Come on, let's go find the flight deck!"

Charon followed dutifully and after a few wrong turns and at least a dozen sets of stairs Rachel opened a door and they were met with the sight of blue sky and the smell of water. There were a couple of kids playing off to the right but other than a single guard on patrol there were no other people on the large deck.

Rachel jogged towards the edge but halted several feet back from the end of the deck since there were no guard rails. She clasped her hands behind her back and gazed out over the ruined city.

"Why don't you get closer? I thought I was going to have to hold the back of your shirt to keep to from falling," Charon joked and Rachel smiled softly, shaking her head.

"You know I can't swim, I'm kinda…_terrified_ of drowning," She told him without moving her gaze from the city.

"I did not know you couldn't swim,"

"Really? But you pulled me out of the river in the first few days we were together?"

"I thought you'd been affected by the explosion," He explained, looking at her with concern.

"Oh, no that was before I even knew I'd been hurt, anyway it's not a big deal. Just, if you see me face down in any body of water please come get me because I'm not there on purpose,"

Charon nodded, "Of course," his tone was calm but inwardly he was tense. Now he had to add all water sources more than two feet deep to the list of things that were a threat to her life.

"Are there any other dangers I should know about?" he asked lightly, "Anything I should watch out for?"

Rachel bit her lower lip and thought about it before shaking her head. "I don't think so. After my pet deathclaw, deep water, talon Company and _my let's go explore long abandoned structures_ attitude I think you're covered,"

Charon snorted, "If any new pain in my ass habit of yours comes up try to let me know before you're bleeding out,"

"I will," Rachel grinned, elbowing him, "but come on, we've had a pretty good day. We had steak and eggs for breakfast and nobodies made an attempt on either of our lives."

This time Charon smirked, "Give it time smoothskin, it's not even two yet,"

* * *

It was early evening and the two of them were in the Market looking over what Flak & Shrapnel had to offer when Rachel felt eyes on her. She looked around and met the eyes of Butch from across the long room.

He gave her a smile but his eyes stayed hard as he slowly descended the stairs and moved towards her. Rachel elbowed her ghoul softly and he glanced up from the shotgun shells he had been inspecting.

"Yes?"

"Just a warning, Butch is here and he looks like he wants to chat," she told him in a soft undertone.

Charon sent a discreet glance over the room and nodded. "Let me know if you want me to handle him,"

Rachel nodded, thinking that it might be fun to watch Charon throw the kid off the edge of the ship. Still she was annoyed that he'd insulted to ghoul last night but she didn't feel any hatred for him trying to sleep with her. Honestly that kind of male attention always made her feel pretty even though she'd never admit it to anyone other than herself.

Butch had wandered over to A Quick Fix so for whatever he was planning on doing it seemed like he was trying to work up the nerve. She caught him looking her way out of the corner of her a few times but he kept his distance.

Rachel smiled up at Shrapnel, the gruff man had watched Charon mistrustfully for the first few minutes but relaxed when the ghoul had asked what he had in stock for shotgun shells.

It was a much better reaction then they'd gotten from the two shops on the other side of the Market. The woman at the chem booth had refused to acknowledge Charon and had talked to Rachel in a sniped tone that bordered on fucking rude.

The man at Potomac Attire however sniffed like he smelled something bad and then refused to offer his wears to them, saying. "I won't let you get ghoul stink all over my clothes and ruin their selling value,"

Rachel had braced herself and had seriously considered hitting the man but Charon had put a hand on her shoulder and he'd shaken his head. The ammo dealers were gruff but no more so than they were to anyone else. Rachel made the firm decision that she was only ever going to sell to them.

The older man smiled back, "Something special you're looking for?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to have a hunting shotgun would you?" She'd picked one off a dead raider years ago and had loved it. Unfortunately it had broken and without the caps to get it fixed and an already over stuffed pack she had to drop it instead of carrying around the extra weight.

"Sorry, Shotguns we got are combat and sawed off, never heard of a huntin' one,"

Rachel waved him off, "It's fine, I was pretty sure they were a New Vegas thing,"

"New Vegas?" Shrapnel asked in surprise,

Rachel grinned, "I've walked a long way,"

"Heya' Baby," greeted an regrettably familiar voice from behind her. Rachel turned and offered the boy a less then thrill grin.

"Hey Butch, did ya find you're room okay last night?"

"Would have been easier if ugly over there would have let you come with me," the greaser sneered at Charon who crossed his arms and stepped protectively behind his mistress.

Rachel put her hands on her hips and scowled, more than a little irritated with this man's attitude towards ghouls. "I think that's enough,"

"What? Can't take a joke? Oh, maybe those rumors about you spreading those long legs for corpse ain't so far from the truth.," Butch sneered.

Charon glared but he was used to remarks of that nature.

Rachel on the other hand did not handle being insulted by the boy well. She stepped in close, glaring at the boy with her jaw clenched. "That's it! I've had enough of your gods all damned mouth. What_ I_ do and who _I choose_ to let into my bed is none of your god damn business. I told you to take a hike but apparently your little boy ego couldn't handle that so you choose to change my mind by insulting me and my friend?" She kept her volume moderate but her tone grew colder with each word.

Butch tried to step back but she advanced, staying firmly in his personal space. "I chose not to fuck you because I don't like the look of you, you're a snotty little weakling that wouldn't last three days out in the wastes. I only sleep with _men_. Men who can handle me, you didn't make the cut so now take your bigot, self-absorbed, smooth-talkin' pansy ass out of my sight because if I have to get physical I _will_ hurt you. So now that I've had your attention for a few seconds I hope you understand me when I say. _Fuck. Off_."

Butch was red with anger but he didn't have the balls the challenge her now with everyone in the room looking their way. He turned, muttering something that sounded like _bitch_, and he left. Behind her Shrapnel laughed loudly, a few other people chuckled and things went back to business as usual.

"Good for you girl. That vault ass holes a pain in the ass, 'bout time someone took him down a peg," the man looked between the ghoul and the still agitated girl and cleared his throat. "Now I don't know if any of them rumors are true but I tell ya me and Flak don't give a god damn,"

He looked over the weapons and ammo Rachel had brought to him to trade for things she actually used and he grinned widely, sensing two wastelanders worth there salt. "I tell ya, you kids keep bringing us in prime shit like this and I'll even give ya a discount,"

Charon didn't like being referred to as _kid_ but Rachel's remaining anger evaporated when the old man offered the discount and for that he was grateful.

They cleaned out Shratnel's shotgun shells and .308s and walked away 400 caps richer after they traded everything they could. After that they left. It was just a couple hours until sunset but neither Rachel nor Charon had any misgivings about traveling at night. It was easier to move in the darkness anyway and they were only going to Underworld.

Claws was beyond happy when Rachel whistled for him. He danced around them in his enthusiasm and even tried to lick Charon's hands. Charon pushed the deathclaw away with an annoyed grumble and Rachel laughed as she scratched Claw's head and chin.

They did spot a team of Talon Company mercs near the river but in the darkness the men were easy to avoid.

Rachel had spent a good amount of her life being a courier or messenger, depending on how a person looked at the different jobs she'd done. Now, wandering around the capitol wasteland because she felt like it seemed a little weird. Rachel wasn't used to moving without at least a general idea of where she wanted to end up.

It was a stroke of luck that she'd met Charon, he'd saved her life more times in the last couple of months then she'd ever needed saving before. It was hard to accept that the Capital Wasteland was more dangerous than the Mojave but she certainly seemed to get into more danger here then back west.

Maybe it was because the capitol had less widely settled areas. The towns here all had fortified walls around them, something to keep hostiles out. The wildlife had less variety but that wasn't a bad thing. Hell, she'd live here forever if it meant she'd never see another cazador. Those fucks were unnecessarily aggressive and hard to kill.

"Rachel?" Charon asked and she stopped, giving him her attention. "Where are we going?"

"Underworld?" her answered sounded more like a question.

"I thought you might have changed your mind, we have been going in the wrong direction,"

Rachel looked around the metro tunnel they were in and then down at her pip-boy. She swore and blushed, she'd been so deep in thought she'd stopped looking at her map.

"Sorry, should we double back and find the turn I missed?"

"That would be wise, would you like me to lead?"

"If you think I'll just get us more lost," she grinned and Charon promptly moved ahead of her. Rachel's laughter echoed through the dark tunnels and she clapped her hands over her mouth, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Charon smirked and somewhere deeper into the tunnel Rachel had been leading them down the hiss of a feral ghoul echoed back. It was too far away for them to worry about but Rachel made a point to stay alert.

Charon lead the way back the away they'd come and twenty minutes later turned threw a utility door that Rachel had missed completely. The girl blushed furiously when they entered the large metro station in just under twenty five more minutes. She'd doubled the time of their trip with her mistake.

Charon gave her a smirk and she flipped him off, muttering. "Oh, fuck off,"

He chuckled and the three of them headed for the stairs. Charon had just put his boot on the first step of the long dead escalator when a chorus of feral hisses echoed around them.

There was the distinctive fast patter of feet and Rachel brought up her rifle, blasting one of the two feral ghouls that appeared from the other side of the gloomy room. Charon blasted one of the several ferals trying to descend the stairs as Rachel sent another bullet into the one closest to her.

It fell to the ground only to have its corpse trampled by the feral ghoul behind it. That one swiped at her viscously, sending her rifle skittering into the deep subway tracks. The ragged ghoul raised its hand to swipe again but Claw was suddenly between Rachel and the feral ghoul.

He took the ghoul's attack for his mistress and swiped his own five inch talon's viciously, effectively disemboweling the feral ghoul. It was dead before it hit the ground.

A final shotgun blast and a third body tumbled down the stairs to Charon's feet. He turned and pulled Rachel close to him, scanning the darkness for more danger but there was silence around them.

"Are you alright? Where the hell is your gun?" he demanded and the girl pointed.

"One of them knocked it down in there, Claw took it down while I was unarmed though," She turned to her pet and frowned. He was shaking his head and making soft whiny growling noises. She'd never heard him make a sound like that before and it worried her.

"Claws?" She asked, side stepping. She leaned over so she could see his face and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" Charon asked, watching her eyes widen.

Rachel shed her pack and took a knee while she quickly dug through it. "He took an attack meant for me and that mother fucker caught him right in the side of his face," the girl hissed.

Charon moved around her so he could see what she was talking about and his own eyes widened. Three long gashed run down the right side of the deathclaws face, they ran right over his eye and extended along his muzzle. There was a lot of blood making it hard to see the extent of the damage but the ghoul didn't have high hopes for the creature's sight.

Claw's whined and bent his head, intent on rubbing it on the ground but Charon grabbed him.

"No," he told the animal sternly, holding Claws' head in his rough hands.

Rachel appeared at his side with a bottle of water, a stimpak and a rag in her hands. She put them on the ground and took a dose of Med-X from between her teeth. Charon wanted to argue about using their scarce medical supplies on the beast but he kept his mouth shut, _he_ didn't just lose an eye after all.

Rachel prepped the syringe and looked at her ghoul. "You got him? I don't want him to jerk and break the needle off in his skin,"

Charon moved and he ended having to straddle Claws' back so that he would have a decent grip and Rachel would have room to work.

"Be careful," Charon growled as Rachel bent in front of her pet. "Watch his hands,"

Rachel nodded and told Claws to hold still. Charon wasn't sure if he understood her words or if the animal just found comfort in the girls voice but he did settle don't. Charon didn't like her so close to the wounded deathclaw, it would be so easy for the creature to lash out in a moment of pain and gut her right in front of him. Charon knew he wasn't skilled enough to treat Claws though and he also knew it would be pointless to argue.

Claws only tried to jerk in Charon's hands twice while Rachel worked. Once when she applied the med-x and once when she gave him a stimpak. When she was finished Charon let him go and he shook his newly bandaged head.

Rachel sighed and looked up towards the entrance way that would spit them out right in front of the Museum of History and shook her head. "I don't want to leave him alone tonight,"

Charon gave a sigh of his own, "I didn't think you would. Come, there was a maintenance room we can lock ourselves into for the night,"

Rachel kept her hand on the end on Claws' nose as she followed Charon. Once they were locked inside the small room Claws found a nice corner and lay down. Rachel watched him for a second with a small frown on her lips.

Charon saw the look on her face and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. When she looked up at him he gave her what he hoped was a comforting look. "It was not your fault you know,"

Rachel pursued her lips and help her breath against the sudden tears that welled up in the corners of her eyes. She held them back, willing them not to fall as she shook her head. "He got in front of me, if I'd had better grip on my gun this wouldn't have happened,"

"Yes, he was protecting you, it would have happened regardless," He tried to comfort her, hyper aware of the glittering moisture in her tear ducts.

"I could have downed that asshole before Claws' got hurt," she tried to insist, blushing when her voice cracked.

"And you may have shot him in the process, he put himself between you and your attacker because he loves you," Charon explained tenderly, the air suddenly got heavy between and Charon took an uncomfortable step back. Rachel swept the hair from her face and he cleared his throat saying, "I should- I'll get a little fire going,"

Rachel nodded, turning toward her pack quickly, "yeah, I'll find us some dinner,"

As she dug threw her pack Rachel kept seeing the look Charon had just given her. It was soft and sweet and the kind for thing that got her a little spooked. She'd seen Boone look at Carla like that but nobody had ever sent that look her way. She'd never given them time too. She was more of a, _disappear-in-the-middle-of-the-night_ rather than a _stay-for-breakfast _kind of girl.

She found a couple packages of noodles and pulled them from her pack along with a dented pot. She turned and saw that Charon already had a small blaze going in a metal bucket.

Rachel poured a bottle of clean water into her pot and balanced it on top of the bucket. Charon had made two holes a long to top rim so his fire could breathe while she cooked. Their silence was a lot less awkward than it could have been and after a few minutes Rachel switched on GNR. She heard the last note of whatever song the DJ had been playing and then the man's voice floated out of her speakers.

_Hello children, this is Three Dog! Tellin' the Truth, no matter how bad it hurts. Got some more new about our Guiding Angel. Seem she and her ever faithful mountain of a ghoul was spotted guiding a young vault dweller to Canterbury Commons. Is there another Lone Wonder in our mist? I don't think so, this Angel never seems lonely. Well whatever the vaultie was doing out here seems he shuffled back to the vault as soon as he could but Angel, is vault 101 finally open for good?_

Rachel chuckled and looked up at her scowling friend.

"Angel and her faithful mountain of a ghoul huh?" she lifted an eyebrow and shook her head, "it's to long for an effective team name,"

Charon shook his head, "looks like you're his new Wastelander of Interest,"

Rachel shrugged, "It's a good thing I'm interesting,"

Charon snorted. He watched her while they ate and cleaned up for bed. She was pretending to be fine but he could tell she was still upset about her pet's injuries. Rachel kept glancing over at the sleeping deathclaw, her face a little sadder every time her eyes landed on the red stained bandage.

"Rachel," Charon final called, he couldn't let her torture herself anymore. "Why does this upset you so much,"

The girl looked at the floor and shrugged.

Charon snapped the last piece of his shotgun in place and stood carefully. "Please tell me. I can't help you if I don't know exactly what's wrong,"

Rachel didn't look up but she did cross her arms. "I don't know," the said softly. "It shouldn't bother me this much, he's fine. He probably won't be able to see out of that eye anymore but deathclaws don't have great eyesight to begin with. They hunt but scent,"

Rachel looked up finally, the tears back in her eyes. "It's just; he got hurt because of _me_. Just like you get hurt because I'm being careless or I'm not as skilled as I should be or I let some asshole get the drop on me," she bit her lip hard to keep it from trembling.

Charon felt himself soften towards her even more than he already was and he put his big hands on her shoulders. "Rachel, you are a very skilled wastelander. You a damn good fighter too but you're just one person. Everyone gets pinned down occasionally, that's why you have me and him. You've saved both of our lives before and we are both happy to return the favor,"

Rachel took a ragged breath and sniffed softly, _"why?"_

Charon swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before he whispered, "Because you're important to the both of us,"

Rachel's lip's pursed and a single trader of a tear rolled down her dusty cheek. "I'm going to get you killed,"

Without thinking about what he was doing Charon lifted one rough hand to cup her face and he wiped the tear away with his thumb. Rachel shifted her sad gaze up into those cloudy blue eyes and saw that look again, the one that made her heart speed up.

The air between got heavy once again but this time thee ghoul didn't notice and flee before he did something he'd regret. Instead Charon bent down slowly, holding her upturned face in his big hands and very softly he pressed his chapped lips to her soft ones.

* * *

**I had a couple more paragraphs written but I decided they'd be a better Chapter opener rather then Chapter closer...And I Love a good cliff hanger! Reviews would be lovely, and i'll grant wishes and candy to every who leaves one!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Time stopped as warmth spread through the both of them. Then Charon realized what he was doing. Flustered for possibly the first time in his life the ghoul straightened quickly, snapping his hands back like her skin had burned him.

Rachel just stared at him with wide eyes, more hurt not than surprised. Charon muttered something about going on patrol and he fled. When the door slammed shut Rachel slowly touched her lips and she looked over at Claws. He was looking back at her with one pale eye.

"Did- did that just happen?" she whispered, that kiss had brought all the feeling she'd been trying to suppress to the surface and left her feeling frustrated in more way then one. His tender mouth had warmed her veins and burned away the depression that had settled around her shoulders. But then he left.

Rachel was smart enough to know that he'd probably thought he'd over stepped. Truthfully he had but in a good way. At least now she knew he was suffering right along with her.

She moved towards the wall and sat down next to Claws. He shifted and put his heavy head on her lap with a large sigh. Rachel idly rubbed the top of his head, humming in the silence of the room. Charon had kissed her. He'd kissed her and she'd liked it, a lot.

* * *

Charon stopped walking and leaned against the cold concert wall. He'd gone far enough down the tunnel that he couldn't see the maintenance door anymore. She'd be fine without him for awhile, they'd cleared the tunnel already and he needed time to work out what the fuck just happened.

It had been stupid, kissing her. She was his employer for fuck's sake. He ran a ragged hand over his face and kept moving. He'd just take a walk and then go back to face her. She was going to be so furious.

Charon hadn't been thinking though; there wasn't any kind of thought process as she'd looked up at him with those sad golden eyes. He acted on instinct, his instincts he usually could trust but this time they'd failed him. He'd just not wanted her to look so sad, apparently his subconscious had thought angry disgust was the better option.

The ghoul swore and headed back the way they'd come earlier that day. With a little luck he'd find something to take out his frustration on. If he could just go find those feral ghouls they'd heard in this tunnel earlier he'd take his time killing them off and then he'd go back.

Rachel might not forgive him immediately but Charon was sure she would eventually, he just hoped she didn't sell his contract before that time. He liked her and he wanted to stay by her side.

* * *

"There, do you like it?" Rachel asked her pet. She started making him a collar a couple days ago and had just finished. It was a simple thing made out of a couple old belts and a belt buckle she'd found years ago. It was pretty silver and had animals she'd never seen before carved into it. There was also a tiny latch hidden on the side that opened a secret compartment. I perfect place to hide valuables.

Claws shook his head and nuzzled her hand. She smiled softly but then she looked towards the door for the hundredth time and her smile faded.

Rachel groaned when she checked the time on her Pipboy. Charon had been gone for almost an hour now and she was starting to get worried about him. She told Claws to stay put and cracked the door, looking from side to side. Not seeing anybody she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Rachel figured he'd gone to Underworld for a drink so she headed for the metro station where they'd been attacked. She was going to give Charon a piece of her mind when she caught up with him too. It was one thing to need a couple minutes to think and another to disappear for hours at a time and leave her lusting.

She entered the big room and scanned the gloom with her rifle in hand. She went up the stairs silently, turning towards the entrance tunnel but the scuff of boots made her whirl with her gun up. She swallowed hard when she saw four men in black Talon armor enter the upper landing from the other side.

They advanced quickly and she took a few steps back. If she made a run for it they'd defiantly shoot her and they never believed her lies so she decided she wouldn't even try this time around. The man in front flashed a sick grin and opened his mouth but Rachel cut him off, opting to be a smartass.

"Let me guess, Talon Company? And you're going to demand to know my name and then you're not going to believe whatever I tell you, am I right?" She cocked an eyebrow, her iron sights trained between his eyes. "Let's save it because I'm in a hurry. I'm Rachel,"

The guy glanced at his men and laughed darkly, "You're a smart woman, smart enough to know that you can't beat the four of us alone. Why are you alone, where is your pet ghoul?"

Rachel glared, "_Charon_ is just finishing up something in Underworld and he'll be here in a minute or two,"

"We've been watching this tunnel for a few hours now. Since we heard gunshots down here and I think that you're here all alone. One of my men said he saw you're… _friend_ heading off in the tunnels and that was what? An hour ago?"

Rachel felt a chill sink into her spine. _Charon I don't know why you back tracked but hurry the fuck up and get your ass over here_, she thought.

The merc closest to her took a step in her direction and she pulled the trigger. The other three jumped, none of them expecting that she was going to fight right now. Rachel fired again and caught another man in the knee as she stumbled back but they had all rushed her at once and they'd already been close.

Rachel had her gun wrenched out of her hands for the second time in one evening and her legs where swept out from under her. These men had been trained a little better than the others had. Either that or she been seriously underestimating how much Charon protected her.

The man with the knee injury got back to his feet as the other two pined her down. He scowled at her and the pole in his hand lit up at the end with a blue line of electricity. Rachel kicked her leg out and grabbed her pistol from her cargo pants. She started cutting the inside out of the pocket over the place she kept Maria. It was easier reaching into a bottomless pocket then down her pants for her emergency gun.

Now she was especially glad she'd done it as she grabbed Maria and shot the man with the cattle prod in the throat. One of the men pinning her shoulders hit her over the head with the butt of his pistol and Rachel grunted as she hit the floor, her vision going blurry.

"Orders are to kill the ghoul," one man said somewhere above her as the bruising grip eased up.

"I already radioed for reinforcements, Troy will be here with his team in ten minutes. Can you handle the girl?"

"Yeah," Rachel felt a boot nudge her ribs. She tried to swear but the pain in her head seemed to be interfering with her mouth. "She won't cause any trouble now. I'll take her to the drop point and send one of the new guys to inform the Contact,"

Rachel growled without sound and felt herself being lifted. She been carried over Charon's shoulder like this and it was plain the person carrying her now was much smaller. She twitched her fingers and gave a weak struggle against her captors grip. She didn't want to go with them.

"Holy fuck, she's still awake?"

"Zap her," the one carrying her ordered. "Don't want her to start screamin' and blow our cover,"

Rachel gritted her teeth and threw her body weight to the side, causing the Talon merc to swear and loose his grip. Rachel rolled onto her stomach when she hit the ground but pain seared threw her lower back as she was teased into unconsciousness.

* * *

Charon spun, looking back the way he'd come as gunshots echoed threw the metro tunnels. He had his combat knife in hand, glistening with fresh blood. He'd just slit the last feral ghoul's throat when he'd heard the shots.

The loud rifle went silent and then a smaller rapid fire weapon followed. A pistol… strapped to a woman's thigh and only used when she was in trouble.

"Rachel," He cursed as his body when cold. He'd left her alone for too long and now she was firing her _some-asshole-is-in-my-personal-space_ firearm.

Charon tried to reason with himself as he ran down the dark tunnels that it could be someone else in a different part of the metros. When that didn't work he called himself every insult he could think of for traveling so far away from her.

Kissing her had been a mistake but they would ultimately move on. If he found her dead in a pool of her own blood he'd never forgive himself. Images of her brain matter splattered on concrete flashed threw is mind with a few other horrific things he expected to find. Things raiders or super mutants would do to her if she were caught.

He got to the utility door faster than he thought he could run and wrenched it open. Claw stumbled out of the room, disoriented by his lack of vision but determined to move. Charon saw both of their packs still resting against the wall and there were long scratches in the metal door were Claws had tried to get out but there was no sign of Rachel.

Claw growled, sniffing towards the platform station and Charon followed. If she was still alive he wanted to take out as many hostiles as he could before they realized he was there. There was less chance of them killing her out of spite then.

He pressed himself against the wall and peered into the big room. He could see five men descending the stairs. Charon growled and eased back, pulling a frag mine out of a pouch on his hip.

He motioned for Claws to follow him with a dark look in his eyes. Talon Company. Of course it was those assholes who had found her. Charon didn't know where she was but at least he knew they had orders to bring her in alive.

Charon made quick work of the men sent to kill him. He knew they were after him because he was usually close enough to hear them talking. He knew they took Rachel to a drop point but the bastards didn't say anything else about her location.

The mines he planted killed two of them, and in the smoke from and dust he slipped silently by the other coughing men.

He killed a third by coming up behind him and snapping his neck. The two mercs a few feet in front did notice there companion was gone for a full minute and by that time Charon had hidden the body in a bathroom stall.

The Talon men backtracked, and Charon could almost smell their fear. They spotted the open bathroom door and one gestured to the other to go check it out. Charon pressed himself against the wall next to the door and when the guy stepped inside the ghoul grabbed him, expertly disarming him in the process of slamming him into the wall.

"Sick 'em," He growled as the second guy stumbled back out of the ladies room. Claws darted out of the stall he'd been eat in and attacked the remaining Talon merc. Claw's was fast and the shots that he managed to fire were over the deathclaws head. He'd been aiming possibly for Charon's head.

Claw's gutted his target as Charon hauled his captive Talon man to the doorframe so he could watch his squad leader's innards yanked from his body. Claw's looked between the bathroom stall and the corpse at his feet before he bent, feeding on the fresher body.

The Talon mercenary whimpered and stared wide eyed at his dead commander, then looked at the ghoul.

Charon lifted the man off his feet and held him against the stone wall, "Where is she?" he whispered and the man started to shake.

"I don't know," he mumbled

Charon growled, shifting so he could hold him up with one hand and broke the man wrist in a quick movement with the other.

He cried out, and sweat started to bead on his forehead. Charon glared and whisper again, "Where is she?"

"I swear I don't know, only the senior guys knew stuff like that." He was pleading. Charon pulled his knife from his belt and touched the blade to the back of his prisoner's ear. "Tell me everything you know. Everything you have overheard. If I like what you tell me I might let you live,"

"I- I heard that they didn't have to take here very far from here. I think she was supposed to be held somewhere in the mall until further instructions,"

"Who hired you fucks?"

"Somebody with caps to burn, Jabsco has most of us looking for you two," he wheezed.

Charon dropped the man and he struggled to get to his feet, trying to watch both the ghoul and the deathclaw at the same time. Charon let the kid hobble maybe ten paces before he pulled his shotgun from his back and filled the boy's brain with lead.

* * *

With a groan Rachel tried to stretch but she found she was bound around her wrists and ankles. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted against the harsh lights. Rachel blinked and squinted again and she found herself in a small room.

The walls and floor where dirt though so her classification as a _room_ was vague. The space was held secure by wooden beams. _Hopefully_.

Rachel twisted and hissed, her back stung and she suddenly remembered getting teased. Somewhere between fucking furious for being captured and worried physically sick for Charon Rachel twisted again and after a lot of swearing her managed to get her bound hand over her legs and in front of her.

She rolled and sat up slowly, looking around. There was a small table close to a door that she hoped led outside. Large dark stains in the dirt next to hear that looked like something bloody sat there for a long time, the imprint in the hard earth suggested that there had been gore bags in here. There was also a bed pushed against the far wall and she could see a length of chain secured to one of the rod iron bedposts_. That's concerning at best_.

Rachel inspected the ropes keeping her wrist together. Rachel reached for the knife in her boot and started swearing all over again. It was gone along with her boots. Upon further inspection so was everything else she liked to on her person. This included, much to her mounting rage, her leather armor and _her boots_.

Someone had striped her while she was unconscious. They'd left her only in her black panties and ripped once white tank top. Her bra was still on and that was a small relief.

The knot in the rope was tight but she started working on it with her teeth anyway. She was nothing if not determined and she had no way of knowing how long it would be before her captors came back.

While she worked she thought about Charon. Was he alive? Every contract they'd picked off of dead Talon merc's said that he was to be killed. He was a good fighter but there were four or five guys going after him all at once.

The knot started to loosen but she heard footsteps and the sound of a key in the lock. Rachel maneuvered herself so that she was kneeling in time for the door to open. She didn't want to face an enemy lying on her side or sitting on her ass.

The same man who'd carried her here walked in and barred his teeth at her. "Up already, you're a tough fuckin' bitch,"

"Untie me and I'll show you how tough I am," she growled.

He shook his head, "If it were up to me I'd shoot you right now but I have orders to keep you alive and collect the rest of our payment, then I'll hand you over to your new master,"

Rachel scowled harder. "Who do you work for?"

"I don't want to ruin the surprise," he drawled, "but you won't have to wait long. It's almost three; he'll be here soon,"

"And you're going to babysit me until _he_ gets here?" She probed.

"Those are my orders,"

"Good," she gave him a twisted smile of her own,

"What?"

"My ghoul is gonna kill you any minute now," she smiled but he smiled back and something twisted painfully in her gut.

"You're _ghoul_," he hissed, leaning in close, "Is dead,"

She felt herself go cold and empty as the words registered. Dead? Charon couldn't be dead, he was too badass to be dead. The man in front of her laughed and lit a cigarette.

"You're lyin'," she whispered.

"I don't care if you believe, fact is he ain't comin'," he told the glaring woman as he blew out the first lungful of smoke. He moved his eyes from hers and opted to stare at the wall. The lanterns in here were making her eyes look almost…shimmering. And the color combined with the hate filled glare was unnerving.

Rachel wished she could call for Charon on her Pipboy but she couldn't move her hands. She wished Charon would call to her but he could be out of range. He would be looking for her right? He'd find her missing and search the entire US for her.

It didn't take long at all for three in the morning to roll around. She was furious, exhausted and anxious all at the same time. She didn't want to believe that Charon was dead but the Talon asshole had planted to idea in her head.

There was a knock on the door and the man grinned at her cruelly. He opened the door but from this angel she couldn't see who was on the other side. The Talon merc held out a key and his hand returned from beyond the edge of the door with a cloth pouch that was fat with caps.

He nodded and left without a second glance. Another person slid into the room with her and Rachel swallowed, gritting her teeth against the new flood of curse words welling up in her throat. He gave her an oily grin and rubbed his hands together.

"Hello my dear, are you surprised to see me?" He chuckled with a sickly wheeze.

"Go to hell," Rachel hissed.

"Now now, that's no way to treat you're new master," he pulled _her_ pistol from the inside pocket of his white business suit. "You'll have to excuse the bondage, you're new slave collar will be here in a few days,"

Rachel looked up into the conniving ghoul's eye with all the fury that she'd gathered up over the day and whispered. "I'm going to kill you,"

Ahzrukhal picked her up and dumped her onto the bed. Rachel rolled and kicked her feet out, catching him in the chest, he stumbled back but then he flicked his hand out and slapped her. Rachel gasped and the ghoul point Maria at her.

He snarled, snapping the ankle chain in place before he cut the ropes binding her feet together. He didn't free her hands though; _maybe he knows I'm dangerous_.

"Now," his wheezed, his eyes traveling over her pale legs, "I think you and I are going to finish what we started. Only this time I'm going to be the one holding the gun,"

"I'll kill you first," she warned,

"I thought you might feel that way," he grinned and swiftly punched her in the gut. Rachel gasped and he shoved a Jet inhaler into her mouth, forcing her to breathe the drug. The affects hit her quickly and everything around her shifted. She felt a distant prick on her wrist and she looked down in time to see a Med-X needle withdraw, then a second was applied.

She started to float, and the walls fluttered with shadow from the lanterns and they were all looking at her. Rachel knew somewhere in the back of her mind that what she was seeing wasn't real but she couldn't seem to connect her brain to her body. She had the insane notion of swimming in colors and she was pretty sure she could hear the wasteland singing. It was a lonely song but she liked it.

Deep in the confines of the drugs the ghoul had pumped into her she only loosely aware of the rest of her cloths being cut from her body and the damp, ragged flesh sliding against hers.

* * *

**Shorter, getting into some darker bits. I rewrote this chapter a couple times but I think I'm as happy with it as I'm gonna' get.**

**To FanDelivers: Thank you for reviewing and I promise ...more cliff hangers in the future because it amuses me! =D**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Blood. It was all the big ghoul could think about. He wanted to drain the red liquid from whoever had taken Rachel away from him, paint the walls with it. Equally whenever he wasn't picturing the violent ends he could bring to the _Contact_ his mind tortured him with all the ways the _Contact_ could be spilling her blood.

Charon opened the basement door to the decrepit shop he was in and inspected every inch of the little room. Nothing, no helpful Talon informant, no hidden doors…no Rachel.

Frustrated he kicked the wall, the old brick cracked under the force and dust flew into the air. It had been two complete days and he'd searched every building in the mall from sub basements to rooftops.

He'd even crawled through the ruble of the collapsed structures, searching for hidden doors or secret basements. He'd found two. But the only things inside where long ruined food and the skeletons of the people who'd tried to wait out the bombs there.

He'd taken any salvable supplies he'd seen there and had left the dead to their resting places.

This place, it sign was ruined beyond recognition but he was pretty it had been a café once upon a time, before the world burned. It was similarly empty just like all the others had been.

Charon sent one last glance around the room and left. He decided he'd go back to Underworld and check to see if anyone had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. Maybe somebody notice people around. Maybe by some miracle of the wasteland somebody had left a map with directions to his little lost smoothskin.

Charon rubbed his eyes and trudged towards the city of the undead. It didn't take long to navigate the old trenches. Hell, even if the super mutants were still swarming around here it wouldn't have taken him long but killing a dozen of them might have made him feel better.

Willow was the first ghoul he saw and she gave him a tight smile when she saw him. She already knew of course, everyone in Underworld knew. Underworld was the second place he'd combed. The first was the Metro's running around and under the Mall.

"No luck?" she asked and his dejected look was all she needed for an answer. She frowned and nodded towards the door. "Come on, Quinn just got back and I'm due for a break. He can take over while I buy you a drink,"

"No time," Charon rasped, "has anyone been into Underworld since the other day,"

Willow shook her head. "Nobody but Quinn, Although Ahzrukhal has left a couple times,"

"He has?"

"Yeah, guess without you to order around he has to pick up his own shipments,"

Charon scowled, drawling sarcastically, "My heart bleeds for him,"

The Ninth Circle was the one place Charon hadn't gone into when he'd been searching for Rachel. He'd been too worked up too deal with his former employer.

Willow regarded him for a long moment and then nodded. "Stand guard for me, I'll be back in a few minutes." She told him and was gone before he could refuse.

He sighed and leaned against the stone barricade that ran around the metro entrance. He didn't want to sit here but he wouldn't leave Underworld unguarded either, she'd said she wouldn't be every long and as much as he wanted to keep searching he didn't know where to start now.

Charon rubbed his tired eyes for the hundredth time and looked out over the mall, "Rachel…where the fuck _are you_?"

Charon didn't think he'd dosed off but the sudden bump against his hand made him grab his shotgun with a curse. He swore again and looked down at Claws, he'd been leave the beast in the Metro's but it looked like he'd gotten tired of waiting.

Claws looked up at him and Charon gave his leathery hide a pat. His eye was healing but Charon knew now that the damaged eye would never regain sight. He was going to have a scar too. Between that and the collar Rachel must have put on him while Charon was off killing they'd always be able to tell Claws from other less domestic deathclaws.

The big doors of the museum opened and both Willow and Quinn stopped short, reaching for their weapons. Charon growled, too tired to offer the explanations Rachel would have in this situation, and put a ruined hand on the deathclaw's head.

Claws looked between his ghoul and the new people before settling next to Charon with an exaggerated sigh.

"Wh-" Willow tried to questioned but she couldn't get the words to form in her mouth properly.

"What the fuck?" Quinn finished for her as he held tightly to his rifle.

"He belongs to Rachel," Charon told them, offering nothing else. The two ghoul exchanged looks and then Willow held a bottle of whiskey out to Charon, he took it but didn't drink.

Both Willow and Quinn had their own bottles and they both took long pulls, never taking their milky eyes off the deathclaw.

"_So_…it's tame?" Quinn asked carefully to break the silence between them.

Charon looked at the beast and shook his head. "No, he's loyal. I've watched him rip apart our enemies. Little bastard think's Rachel is his mother or some shit,"

"I see. So no leads on her?"

"If I had a lead I wouldn't be here," Charon snarled with more hostility then he'd intended.

Willow looked at the bigger ghoul for a long time, noting the changes in him. His eyes were bloodshot behind the milky-ness and his face looked haggard in more ways than one. Charon's slumped posture and shaking hands practically screamed his exhaustion.

"When was this last time you slept?"

Charon scowled at her and she scowled back, unthreatened. Final his shoulders slumped, defeated. "I think it's been three days, give or take a few hours,"

"You should go rent a bed from Carol, I'm sure she'd give you a line of credit if you don't have the caps," she offered, "hell I'll pay for it. You look like hell,"

"I can't," he was already shaking his head. "Not while Rachel's out there. I have to find her. That's the only thing that matters,"

"And what happens if she isn't alone?" Willow pressed as gently as she could.

"I'll kill every single person keeping her from me,"

"Not if you collapse from exhaustion. Charon you won't be any good to her if you can't see straight,"

Charon tensed and Claws growled at Willow, responding to her tone and his pack elder's posture. Charon put a calming hand on him sighed. "I know, but I _can't_. "

"Do you love her?" Quinn asked and Charon looked at him sharply.

"She is my employer," He answered automatically.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have gotten this worked up if Ahzrukhal had disappeared," he reasoned.

Charon looked at his hands, thinking warily. "I…care for her. In ways I have no right too. I think she cares for my too. I would feel confident saying we are …_friends_," he told them slowly, picturing Rachel curled up next to him when he'd been hurt in Vault 108. "Loyal friends,"

Quinn nodded, satisfied with Charon's honest answer. "Let me help you look for her,"

Charon looked up sharply, "_No_" already on his lip but he paused, "You don't have too,"

"I want too," the merchant glanced at Claws, "The wasteland need's an Angel to walk it. I would hate to know I could have helped and didn't,"

Charon shook his head. One look at Claws and everyone knew who she was thanks to Three Dogs yapping. Charon stood, ignoring his protesting back, and nodded to the next building over. It had been a Law Office once.

"Come on, We should get started,"

* * *

"And that asshole said she was in the Mall?" Quinn asked some hours later.

"Yes, she could have been moved by now, it was only supposed to be a drop point but there would be signs. There isn't anything to suggest anyone was held against their will or even that anyone has been in the area."

Quinn watched the other ghoul open a door for the hundredth to inspect an empty closet. When Charon slammed the door shut Quinn sighed. "Charon we've been looking for hours. _You've_ been looking for days. Come back to Underworld and get some fucking sleep. We can start fresh in the morning,"

Charon wanted to argue but he was too tired to think of a new dispute. Instead he nodded and trudged after Quinn. They hadn't found any trace of her of course. He knew the likely hood of finding her alive got slimmer with every passing hour.

Still he wasn't going to be able to keep going very much longer, a couple hours of sleep and he'd leave again. A power nap, really. Even that made him feel guilty, like he was condemning her on purpose.

When they reached the doors to the Museum of History Charon looked over his shoulder. As if they could feel his resolve to sleep breaking both Quinn and Willow each took one of his elbows and forced him inside.

He didn't fight, instead he let the two lead him. He might even consider them friends later when his brain wasn't so clouded. He found himself in Carol's Place soon enough and he was directed to sit.

"-ron,"

He blinked and looked up at Carol, Quinn and Willow were gone. She smiled uncertainly at him and he forced himself to focus. "Sorry?"

"I asked if you wanted something to eat Charon," She repeated, trying to mother him like every lost soul that crossed her path.

"No, I'm fine ma'am," He reached down to unlace his boots and found they were already off. The two packs he'd been dragging all over hell were stacked neatly on the bed next to his too, he didn't even remember taking them off his shoulder.

Carol nodded but she returned a minute later with a bottle of irradiated water and a bowl of warm noodles.

"Here you go dear. I think you should eat anyway. It'll help keep your strength up."

"Thank you Ma'am," It was all he could think to say as his hands wrapped around warm porcelain.

Carol fussed with a lock of her hair and smiled warmly. "Oh call me Carol." She told him, "now eat those noodles and get some sleep,"

"If I'm not up at dawn, will you wake me?" Charon asked as she turned to leave.

"Oh of course dear, though I'm not sure I'll be up that early. I'll do my best,"

Charon nodded, she reminded him of the chipped bowl warming his hands. "Thank you…Carol,"

She left him with a warm goodnight and he shook his head, eating the food as he'd been instructed too. She was possibly the sweetest woman alive today. Carol prompted the vague memories he had of his own mother.

He remembered that she'd been gentle and kind. He also remembered that she'd died before the war. Before he'd even joined the military but that was all. His father had died too…a reaction to his mother's death. They passed maybe a year apart, leaving him and his two sisters on their own.

Charon drained the liquid left in his bowl and set it on the floor next to his bed. He was too exhausted to try to dig the past out of his foggy memory. He pulled the chain from under his armor and snapped open to oval locket he kept with his dog tags.

Two ginger haired girls smiled up at him from the faded pictures. Charon snapped the locket closed again and settled into bed. Rachel had asked him about the locket only a little over a week ago. If he found her, _when_ he found her, he'd show it to his little smoothskin.

Charon promised himself that he'd try to be more open to her. He'd try to reciprocate the trusting friendship she forced onto him every day. Because he wanted to be her friend, he'd let his contractual obligations fall to second. He would be Rachel's friend.

* * *

Groaning Rachel opened her bloodshot eyes. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and her head felt like a super mutant had used her skull for batting practice.

She wiped sweat from her neck and reached for the Jet inhaler on the table that had been dragged next to the bed. Her ankle shackle chaffed but it was hardly worth noticing once the drug filled her system.

She'd only gotten half a hit out of the inhaler but it was enough to take the edge off. Ahzrukhal never left her with enough to get a good high but at least she could function while he was away. She hated knowing in just a couple of hours she'd be a shaking idiot praying he'd return with more.

Today was the first day she didn't have someone from Talon Company watching over her during the day. Touching her and feeding her the drugs that made her compliant. Apparently part of the payment they'd gotten was taking turns with her. One of them had described it as payback for all the men she'd killed but she'd been too out of her senses to even feel his abuse.

Now, while she could almost think straight, she worked on unscrewing the bolt that attached her to the bed. There were two and she hadn't even started loosening the first one but it was better than just sitting there waiting for Old Az to return. Her bruised skin was enough of a reminder to keep her focused on escaping for a while.

She caught a shadow out of the corner of her eye and her head snapped in the direction of the movement. For a slit second she could have sworn she'd seen an animal dart back into the shadows. The narrow passage wasn't that long though and she could see all the way to the back where a lantern burned. Nothing there.

Rachel looked at her Pipboy and growled, 5am. She'd only slept an hour. She knew she was probably hallucinating the shadow animals now. Exhaustion and drug withdrawal could do that to a girl. The first time she'd seen one she'd thought it was a species she'd just never encountered before.

Finally alone she flicked over to the communicator and hit the button to call of Charon already feeling jittery as the drug faded.

"Hey, are you out there?" her voice was almost as raspy as his from the thick coat of dust in her throat. The seconds ticked by but she didn't get a response. He was either out of range or dead.

The thought of her stalwart ghoul companion being dead hit her harder than it should have and she was reduced to sobbing into the dirty mattress. It was a very clear sign that the jet was nearly worn off but there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it and that only made her cry harder.

* * *

Charon woke with a start and sat up, he knew where he was but he was still confused. He thought he'd heard someone whisper to him.

His mind playing tricks on him, he guessed. He rubbed his eyes, the lids felt like they were lead but he forced himself to get up. Charon put on his boots quietly and looked at the communicator on his wrist.

Charon moved his eyes around the room. He was alone so he hit the button, unable to hold out any longer. At least if she was in range she might be able to tell him if she was still in the mall.

"Smoothskin?" he whispered experimentally.

Static crackled for a long time, he was standing to go have a cigarette when the tone of the static changed, _"lo?"_

Charon swore and grabbed his gun, heading for the door. He jogged, footsteps echoing on the marble. The only person he saw moving was Winthrop, taking a grate off of one of the vents. The other ghoul didn't even look up as Charon passed him.

He bust out into the cool pre-dawn air, not slowing until he was standing on the cracked sidewalk. Willow was there but he hushed her as she started to ask what the fuck he was doing.

"Smoothskin?" he said into his watch, Claws appearing at his side. "Rachel, can you hear me?"

"_Charon?"_ she asked, the static was much less outside and he could hear the weariness in her voice.

"Where are you?" he demanded while Willow inched close to listen.

"_Listen, Charon. I know you're dead. I can see shadows, they want to play. I guess I'm hallucinating you too,"_ her voice trembled at the end, like she was crying.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" it was still a demand but the ghoul was pretty sure he knew what she was saying.

"_Not enough Jet to chase away the shakes,"_ her vice floated through the speaker in a sing song kinda way. "_At least I have you for a little while_,"

"Come on smoothskin, I'm not dead, alright? I need you to focus, can you tell me where you are?"

"_It's nice of you to say, so I guess I'll play along like I didn't steal your breath and sight_," her words barely made sense_. "I'm in a cave…or a mine …or something,"_

Charon scowled, "What do you mean?"

"_What I said, there a door on the other side of the darkness….but I can't get there. The bed is holding my leg_."

Charon swore under his breath, "Okay, tell me something else. Are you still with Talon Company?"

"_I think they might have left today, the first day I've been alone is today. It won't last, he'll be back to take what I owe him. I owe him quite a lot it seems. Killed a lot of men to stay away." _Charon could hear the fear creeping into her voice and he grit his teeth.

"Who?"

"_Who? Whhoo… A bird said that before the war right? An Ole?_"

"An Owl, Rachel-"

"An _Owl…I bet it was pretty. Hey Charon? Thank you. I figure since you're a corpse on longer walkin', and all because of me,you should know that I was sad you left. All hot and bothered and alone you left me. I like it when you kiss me. Yours are better than the ones I've gotten lately. You're nice about it, and you're not wet. Soggy skin ... smoothskin here doesn't like it. Squishy leather or sweaty mercs…"_ she trailed off.

Charon felt cold, "Rachel focus, who's squishy? Did a ghoul kidnap you?"

"_No_," she scoffed, "_Puppets stole me away. Ghoul is the puppet master. You're puppet master once upon a nightmare living,"_

Willow knew exactly who the obviously drugged up girl meant when she said Charon's old puppet master. Charon did too. She watched his back snap straight and a feral growl rip from his throat. Claw's ducked his head and scurried out of the way as Charon kicked a blue mailbox so hard a crack split in the middle of the big dent he'd made.

"_I hear thunder…"_ they both heard Rachel comment as the echo reverberated around the Mall.

Charon had his gun in his hand and was heading back into Underworld but Willow planted herself between him and the door.

"Move!" he roared. She flinched and put her hand up like she was trying to calm a raging animal.

"Charon, find her first!" she shouted, catching his attention even as he was forcefully sweeping her to the side.

When he didn't say anything she continued. "You don't know how hurt she is, or even where she is exactly! Find her and kill him later!"

"I can find her when I beat her location out of his sorry ass!"

"You were with him for _seven decades_! Do you honestly expect him to tell you the truth! I don't. I expect him to lie to your face, die and laugh from his reserved seat in hell!"

The seven foot ghoul set his mouth in a hard line and she knew she made him see her point.

"_Charon?...have you flown away again?"_ a voice crackled at his wrist.

Eyes never leaving Willow's he lifted the watch to his lips. "No, I'm coming to get you."

"_Oh good, I miss the sun,"_

Charon looked out over the mall, "She's close enough that she could hear that echo," he said to Willow, glancing at the busted mailbox.

"She's close enough for Ahzrukhal to slip out and see her without him having to travel."

"What the fuck could she mean by a mine? There are no mines in the Mall,"

Willow snapped her fingers, "Have you searched the super mutant bunker?"

Charon rounded on her, "What bunker!?"

Willow took a step back and pointed, "Out there was a bunker the mutant's hid in. This end collapsed last year but the other end might still be standing,"

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"I thought it had been destroyed! Until she said she was in a mine I'd forgotten about it!"

Charon grabbed her wrist and dragged her with him in the direction she'd pointed. "Show me!"

Together they ran, Claws skittering after them. Willow jumped two of the narrow gullies with Charon close behind her. She went over a fortified hill and jumped into the pit behind it, spinning and turning the handle of the wooden barbwire door Charon had missed so many times in the last few days.

"It's locked!"

"Move!" Charon swept her out of the way and the wood around the lock shattered like glass under his boot.

"Rachel!" he roared, unable to believe he'd missed this place. He'd searched every inch of the buildings surrounding the mall but he hadn't even thought to checked the barren center.

Dust swirled in the in the dim room, the only light coming from a lamp by his foot and another on a bedside table. He jogged forward, turning in a circle. He didn't see her.

"Rachel!" he called into his communicator and blinked, hearing his echoed voice in the room. It was followed by a whimper. Slowly he took a good look around and saw an inch think chain leading under the bed.

He got to his knees and looked under the rusted frame. Two glowing golden eyes set in a pale face gazed back at him.

"Rachel?"

The eyes flinched and he withdrew the hand that had been reaching for her. She was like a frightened animal.

"Who are you?" she asked in a quivering voice. "You look like a dead man and its cruel."

"Charon, the idiot who left you alone," he coached, unsure about what was running through her head.

"Prove it," she challenged, the chain clinking as she retreated further under the bed.

The ghoul blinked and looked at Willow. The ghoulette shrugged and he looked back under the bed, wanting nothing more than to hold her tight and never let go.

He sighed, "Okay…ah… I'll tell you something only you and I know about?"

She shifted, listening.

"The first time I saw you with no pants on was the first night you slept curled against me. In vault 108 after we barely survived a horde of violent clones all named Gary. You saved my life that night." He said it quietly but he knew Willow could hear him. He trusted her to keep her mouth shut but it had been an intimate moment for him and he didn't want to share it with anyone but the girl under the bed.

Charon carefully reached out to her and Rachel took his hand this time, letting him pull her out from under the bed and into his hard embrace. She buried her face into the nape of his neck and sobbed quietly there. Whispering non-sense about angels and undoing the dead.

Charon had his arms wrapped around her tightly with his nose in her hair, what was left of it anyway. Listening to every babbled word and rocking her slightly.

After a couple long minutes Willow cleared her throat and when Charon glared at her she gestured to the girl in his arms. "You should take her to Barrows, poor thing looks like she's had a rough couple days,"

Charon loosened his grip enough to get a good look at hear and nearly saw red. She was completely naked and her skin was a mass on dark bruises and angry cuts. Some looked like finger nails and other were very clearly vicious bites. He didn't miss the soft relieved sigh she gave when he let go of her. Charon had to stop himself from leaving her with Willow to go murder the man that caused it.

Instead he stood, and helped her to stand with him. When she was stable her growled, "Cover your ears,"

She did just in time for a shotgun blast the shattered the end of the chain locking her to the bed. Rachel jumped but she didn't move away from him. He looked at her and yanked a stained greyish sheet from the bed, and handing it to her.

Rachel warped the sheet around her waist, shivering slightly. Charon saw her turn her head quickly and look around the edge of the bed.

"What is it?"

She shook her head, "The shadows want to play…do…do you have any Chems?" she asked, embarrassed but pleading. Charon heart squeezed painfully and he shook his head, seeing her glassy bloodshot red eyes and the sheen of sweet on her skin.

"No," he scooped her up with one arm behind her knees and the other supporting her back. The sheet trailed almost to the ground but not quite. "I'll take you to the doctor, we'll get you fixed up,"

She leaned into his chest, finding comfort in the body heat radiating threw his armor. "Thank you," she whispered. "For saving me,"

"_Always_," He whispered back as Willow took point on the way back to Underworld.

"I missed you,"

"I missed you too smoothskin,"


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Quinn was leaning against the concrete barricade out Underworld with a cigarette between his green tinted lips. He was on his second and was wondering where the hell Willow had run off to. It wasn't like her to disappear, especially in the mornings when they could sneak down the metro steps for a few heated minutes without the other ghouls getting ideas.

They didn't want anyone to think they were in a relationship, neither one of them had time for one. With Willow almost never leaving her guard post and Quinn spending most of his time trading in the wastes a relationship would be impractical. They would just be waiting for each other all the time, right now their _friends with benefits_ arrangement suited both life styles.

He heard a short whistle and his head snapped instinctively towards the sound. The half smoked butt fell from his lips when he spotted the familiar ghoul heading towards him through the shimmering heat. Willow walked a few paces head and to the right of Charon, head gun ready in case of danger. In the early morning light the limp red headed smoothskin wrapped in white looked a hell of a lot like the Angel Three Dog had titled her.

Quinn didn't realize he was moving until the sun hit him, warming his torn flesh. Willow gave him a grim look that made him want to drag her into his arms right then and there as he stammered, "W-where the hell did you find her?"

"Mutant Bunker," Charon growled, murder in his pale eyes, "get the doors,"

0000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000

Winthrop was in the process of moving his ladder from one lost-cause broken air vent to another when the door swung open wide, being dragged all the way to the side by a anxious looking Willow. Charon and Quinn followed with an animal Winthrop never thought he'd see in Underworld.

"What the fuck!" he yelled his laddered clattering to the floor. The group ignored him entirely and with the homicidal look on Charon's face he decided as long as the deathclaw didn't attack anyone he wouldn't go out of his way to say anything until the girl was taken care of.

It was beside the fact that anyone else with a deathclaw in tow would be tossed out immediately. It wasn't like Winthrop had anyone big enough to toss Charon anyway.

Charon cradled Rachel close to his chest, her eyes were half open but he couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. At least she was breathing, he tried to console himself. As all as she was breathing everything would be okay.

Both Willow and Quinn each grabbed a handle of the Chop Shop doors and dragged them open for Charon without the big ghoul having to break stride. Dr. Barrows looked up from his clipboard and swore when he caught sight of the girl, tossing his notes on his desk.

"Put her there. Nurse gather my supplies, quickly," he directed, pointing to an empty gurney. He immediately removed her sheet, ordering everyone to get out. Charon moved to stand against the wall as the other two obeyed the Doctor. Barrows didn't argue, just nodded and set to work.

He worked for a little under an hour beneath Charon's protective eye until finally Barrow glared at him.

"Damn it Charon! Get out! I can't work with you growling like an animal every time I touch her. Go find something to do and I'll come get you when I'm finished,"

"I'm not leaving her!" He snarled, pushing away from the wall the stand at his full height.

"Yes you are! Her life isn't in immediate danger but that could change if you keep distracting me, now get out!"

Charon glared but the doctor glared right back, unafraid of the giant body guard. Charon swore and left with a threat of what he would do if he came back and she was harmed in any way. Barrows just shooed him, closing the door sharply as soon as Charon was across the threshold.

Charon growled and felt a nudge on his hand. He looked down at Claws and rubbed the deathclaws nose. It was as close to affection as he got with the animal but Claws seemed pleased with it anyway.

Someone cleared there throat and he looked up, Quinn strolled up to him and glance towards the Ninth Circle. "Willow's guarding the door, making sure he doesn't leave in a hurry,"

Charon nodded, looking over the mostly empty floor. A couple residents were looking at them and from across the room but nobody dared to get close. Charon had the idle thought that he should have gotten a deathclaw years ago, nobody would have dared fuck with him. Winthrop caught his eye and Charon glared. The man grumbled and crossed the space slowly, stopping a few yards away.

"How is she?"

"Hurt," was all Charon said,

"Um…about your pet…" he gestured at Claws. Charon glared, patting the deathclaws head.

"What about him?" Charon challenged.

Winthrop cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "It's just that it's making a lot of the residents nervous, I think you should leave it outside,"

Charon looked down at Claws and back up at the resident handy-man/Mayor. "No,"

"What?"

"He's important to Rachel, he stays with me." He said and walked away with Claws trotting beside him. Quinn followed too and they were met by Willow at the top of the stairs. Charon put a hand on the doorknob of The Ninth Circle and glanced at the ghouls behind him.

"You two stay out here," he told them grimly, using his key to open the door. He was suddenly glad he had kept it.

They didn't argue and he and Claws entered the bar he'd been trapped in for the last seventy miserable years of his life. Ahzrukhal wasn't in the bar but Charon hadn't expected him to be. Instead he went straight to the sleazy bartender's bedroom door and pounded on it. Charon stepped and crossed his arms menacingly as the swearing ghoul flung open the door.

Ahzrukhal smirked at Charon when he saw who it was, "_Charon_, come back for a visit?"

Charon punched him square in the jaw, the impact sending his former employer sprawling on the dirty floor. Ahzrukhal swore and rubbed his cracked jaw, spiting blood on the floor. "Careful boy, I see your pretty little female isn't with you. I heard you lost her…"

Charon Advanced, he grabbed a fist full of shirt and slammed the man against the wall.

"She was taken from me," he snarled, "but I have her _back_ now. Found her in a hole in the ground out in the trenches. Funny how people can be right under our noses,"

Ahzrukhal went pale and the cock sure grin melted from his face. Charon shoved him harder against the wall with a hand around his neck. He squeezed and Ahzrukhal wheezed a little harder while he tried pleaded with Charon, "You've got it all wrong. I didn't hurt her,"

"I never said she was hurt," he countered darkly, squeezing harder. Not enough to cut off his former employers airway completely but enough so that the vicious man knew who held the power now. Charon turned his head and short whistle, enjoying the whimper Ahzrukhal made when Claw's four foot and eight inch form slid out from behind the bar where he'd been sniffing around.

"Claws, Heel," The deathclaw immediately fell into place next to Charon. "A few days ago I watched him devour three Talon Company mercs in half an hour. He'd even been hurt at the time, lost one eye. Imagine what he could do _now_, if I told him to hunt you,"

The cold predatory grin that split Charon's lips was enough to make Ahzrukhal wet himself.

"I know what you _did to her_," Charon's voice was quiet and matched his frigid eyes, "and I know what _you let others do too her_,"

He didn't actually _know_ but he suspected from what he'd picked out of Rachel's drug hazed babble and the bruising he'd seen on her pale skin. Ahzrukhal started to stammer but Charon squeezed his neck harder, crushing the smaller ghoul's windpipe.

With his other hand Charon patted him down, looking for Ahzrukhal's pistol. He found what he was looking for in the inside pocket of his jacket, the same pocket he'd kept a pistol in for as long as Charon had been with him.

It wasn't the beat up silenced .22 he'd been expecting though, the familiar ornate 9mm made his eyebrows shoot up and his fury resurface all over again.

"I told you a long time ago it was a bad idea to keep trophies," he looked from Rachel's pistol to Ahzrukhal, the ghoul's lips where starting to turn blue has he struggled to breath. Charon dropped him and thought about leaving him there to suffocate slowly but he didn't want to risk the man surviving somehow. Leave without killing him was not a mistake Charon was going to make twice.

There was also a part of him that felt bad that Rachel wasn't here to take part in the revenge. She had as much a reason as he did to kill the gasping man on the floor. Claws was creeping forward, attracted by the blood coating Azhruhkal's teeth and the scent of fear rolling off of him.

"Back off," Charon growled and Claws ducked his head, stepping back obediantly.

Ahzrukhal coughed blood onto the marble floor and Charon weighed the gun in his hand, he'd dreamt of this moment for years and wanted to savor it.

The ghouls eyes started to dull and Charon finally leveled the gun at his head, pulling the trigger before he missed his chance. Gore painted the wall beautifully behind the corpse and Charon took a long moment to appreciate his work.

The body twitched and Charon aimed the gun again instinctively but he relaxed when he saw Claws tug Ahzrukhal's leg again.

"No," he sighed, "Rachel wants people to accept you. You covered in gore while you eat a resident will just piss people off,"

There were voices outside the door and Charon turned, snapping his fingers so Claw would follow instead of chew on the corpse anyway.

He opened the door and was met with a dozen angry faces. Those faces all turned to fear when they saw exactly who it was standing in the doorway and backed off. All of them except for Winthrop that is. The handy man glanced around Charon and he scowled harder.

"What the hell Charon! Who's all that blood from?" he demanded, getting startled looks form the growing crowd. The word _blood_ whisper a half a dozen times by the gawkers.

Charon crossed his arms and glared back.

Winthrop sighed, still angry, "Why'd you wait this long?"

Another long pause and he saw Charon glance down towards The Chop Shop before hissing, "You know why,"

Winthrop swore and put his hand on the back of his neck, embarrassed for asking a stupid question like an ass hole. He did know why of course. He had been surprised Charon had let the man live the first time and if Charon thought Ahzrukhal had been the one to kidnap the little smoothskin he trusted him. Charon was too good of an assassin to mistake her kidnaper's identity.

"I don't suppose you're going to clean that up?" he asked at last.

"No," he rumbled, "Not unless you want the deathclaw to eat him," he offered, pushing the doors open enough for everyone to see the young deathclaw standing obediently at his heel.

The ghoul gather around him made terrified noises and backed away. A few of them actually fled. Even Winthrop stepped back, grumbling about having too many things to do then deal with all this crazy shit.

"Yeah, about that," Winthrop eyed the animal licking blood from Charon's boot. "I really don't think having a deathclaw in Underworld is the best thing. What if it attacks?"

"If he attacks I'll put him down myself!" Charon snarled angrily, leaving the Ninth Circle and crossing to the stairs. People got the fuck out of his way but Winthrop trailed behind with Quinn and Willow.

"Charon-"

"No! Claws stays with me,"

Winthrop stopped and shook his head. He wasn't going to win the argument and he knew it. "Fine, but if he attacks anyone you better put the beast down," he warned, pulling a wrench from his belt and heading back to the vent he'd been working on before the gunfire.

Charon leaned against the wall in between the two doors leading inside The Chop Shop, settling in to wait for Barrows to allow him back inside. The deathclaw lay on the floor next to his boots and went to sleep, dutifully ignoring the stairs of the curious Underworld residents like his master was.

Claw looked up after at him after a while and groaned pitifully. Charon blinked, pulled from the trance he'd settled into and cocked an eyebrow. _"What?"_

Someone politely cleared their throat and he looked up to see Carol standing in front of them with her hands clasped in front of her. She was smiling at him with concerned eyes and he shifted uncomfortably. Behind her Greta glared but he ignored the other, sour, woman.

"What?" he asked again and winced, it had sounded a lot harsher then he'd intended it too. Carol had been nothing but kind to him.

She ignored his tone and glanced shyly at the deathclaw. "I think…he may have to go out," she suggested.

Charon blinked again and looked down at Claws and then to the door of The Chop Shop.

"I- I could take him if you like?" she asked hopefully. Charon started to shake his head.

"I don't know about that…He doesn't know you Carol, if something where to happen-"

He stumbled for the words to decline without hurting her feelings but stopped short when she leaned forward and stretched out her hand to Claws. The deathclaw delicately sniffed her hand and gurgled, licking her fingers before nuzzling his head into the woman's palm. She chuckled and sunk to her knees, letting Claws lick her face while she rubbed both sides of his head.

Charon had to close his gaping mouth; behind her Greta was also wide eyed with shock. Charon had always though that while Carol was a sweet woman she was timid outside the duties of her hotel.

Now though, now he knew he'd never misjudged a woman so thoroughly. Apparently Carol had _giant brass balls_.

"Carol!" Winthrop's voice lashed out along with the sound of running feet, "Charon! You promised if it attacked you would fucking shoot it!"

Carol stood and spun with her fists on her hips to face the angry man. The disapproving scowl on her usually gentle face was especially unsettling, "_Jonathan Winthrop_!" she snapped like a mother who'd caught her child doing something horrible. He tone made everyone in earshot freeze. "Stop your shouting right this instance. This little fellow wouldn't hurt a hair on anyone's head without Charon's say so. Charon is a good boy, he wouldn't bring anything harmful into Underworld and you should know that!"

"You don't know that he wasn't ordered to kill us all by that smoothskin!" he snapped and immediately regretted his words. Charon growled surging forward but Carol stepping between them. She was angry, it was awe inspiring.

"Jonathan! How dare you talk about such a nice girl like that!" she scolded furiously, "Claws is a sweet thing, looks can be deceiving and with both know that! I know you had dogs before the war just like I did!"

"Carol!" Winthrop almost whined, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "That is not a _dog_…it's a _deathclaw_,"

"It's an animal who belongs to a breed with a bad reputation just like my Pit Bulls and you're Dobermans. There are traders with Yao Guai who are as nice as can be and Claws is no different," she chided, pointing her finger at him. Winthrop looked at Claws, who instead of defending his people had decided to hide behind Carol's skirt. Charon wondered not for the first time if Claws was smarter then he got credit for.

Carol turned to Claws and patted her thigh gently, making a few kissy noises. "Come along baby, I'll take you outside, it's been ages since I've seen the sun,"

Claws looked at Charon and the ghoul grunted, "Protect her while you're out there or I'll skin you,"

Claws yipped and skittered after Carol who'd already started towards the gates of Underworld.

Charon lifted an eyebrow at the startled Winthrop and asked "Jonathan?"

"Fuck off," he growled and disappeared again.

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000

The room was way too bright when Rachel's eyes finally fluttered open and she squinted against the harshness of it. The familiar smell of leather and gunpowder got her attention after a moment and she turned her head in the direction of the scent.

Rachel tried to blink the sleep from her eyes as looked her body guard over. His eyes were closed and his head was tipped forward so his chin was resting on his armored chest. One hand was resting on his thigh. The other hand was wrapped around her fingers, the size difference was almost laughable.

She was still drowsy and she was sore but a smile tugged the corners of her lips. Charon looked so peaceful that she just couldn't help it. Rachel shifted slightly and reached stiffly for the ragger hand covering hers. she squeezed his fingers and those pale blue eyes appeared from behind his heavy lids.

Charon's eyes widened when he saw her looking up at him and he pitched forward, crushing his lips to hers. Rachel gasped in surprised and tried to kiss him back but her movements were sluggish compared to his. Charon's free hand cradled the back of her head and he gave her another hard kiss before he rested his forehead against hers.

"Christ Rachel," he breathed, cupping her cheek, "I am so sorry,"

"Don't be," she whispered back, pressing her face into his big hand softly, "I missed you,"

Charon swallowed thickly before easing back into his chair. "I missed you too. How do you feel?"

"Like shit. Do we have any water or- feral ghouls?" she asked, looking towards the two glowing ones on the other side of a glass window. Stiffening Rachel instinctively felt for her missing weapons and glanced around the room. "Where are we?"

Charon tightened his hold on her hand reassuringly. "We are in Underworld, those ferals are locked up. I promise," He picked a bottle of purified water up off the floor and helped her sit up so she could drink it. Charon saw her wince and stood.

"I will get Dr. Barrows, you are in pain."

Rachel caught his belt as he turned and shook her head, "No, I don't want you to go. Please, I'll be okay till he comes back,"

Charon looked conflicted for a minute and she tugged his belt insistently. He growled and caught her hand, sitting back down before she saw the bulge in his pants. This was not the time for that _conversation_; she was hurt and probably traumatized.

"Are you _sure_, He won't be back for a few hours, it's only around three in the morning,"

"How long have I been out?" she asked, surprised.

"Almost twenty-four hours, I brought you straight to Barrows after I found you,"

"Did you…is Ahzrukhal…"

"Yes," Charon assured her, his eyes flashing angry for a split second. "I couldn't wait for you to wake up. He needed to be dealt with,"

Rachel nodded, not sure what she felt about it. "How did you?"

"I beat him and then blew off his head. I used your pistol; it's on top of your cloths when you're ready,"

Rachel smiled up at him, "Thank you,"

"Anything for you," the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. The blush that colored her cheeks made his heart quicken.

"Charon…You've saved my life more than I deserve. I know that technically you have too but, _thank you_. And thank you for finding me so fast. It was hell,"

"Barrows told me not to let you walk around if you woke up but he wouldn't tell me the extent of your injuries. I wish I could tell you what kind of shape you're in,"

Rachel yawned as she waved a hand, "Its fine. I'll talk to him in the morning,"

"You should rest, is there anything I can do to help you go back to sleep?" He asked, she was exhausted but he knew her well enough to know that usually exhaustion wasn't enough.

Rachel slowly nodded and shifted herself to the far edge of the bed.

"Would you mind…I mean you don't have too , but could you lay with me?" She bit her lower lip and looked up at him. Charon forced himself to relax and wondered if she knew just how attractive she was without trying. The ghoul stood, taking a moment to unbuckle his upper armor so she would be comfortable.

Rachel watched him stand over her in that tight black T-shirt and they both looked away when their eyes met. Charon hesitated for a second longer, kicking himself for acting like a skittish fucking teenager, and then slid in next to her. Charon relaxed when he heard her breath a content sigh and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Rachel turned into him and laid her head on her barreled chest.

Charon was surprised when she was asleep after only a few minutes. He himself didn't go to sleep so immediately though. Instead he kept watch. Mostly he watched his sleeping smoothskin though and somewhere around dawn her face was the last thing in his mind before he drifted off as well.

0000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000

Dr. Barrows had had his coffee this morning while he had assured Carol that Rachel would recover. Coffee and talking to Carol in the morning was normal. It was part of a routine he had had for the last fifty years and it was one he liked.

The deathclaw sleeping peacefully behind the counter was new and unsettling but Carol had just chuckled when he'd said as much. The beast had only stirred long enough to look Barrows over and tuck its snout back into the teddy bear wedged under its arm.

Greta had glared at the beast a few times but she glared at everyone and Carol was her usual sunny self.

The deathclaw however wasn't nearly as unsettling as the sight of the smoothskin wrapped lovingly in Charon's arms. Badass, stone cold Charon could always be trusted to be stone cold and badass. At least that's what Barrows had though. _This was probably a sign of the second coming of the apocalypse. _

Charon hadn't stirred when the door had opened and it spoke louder than anything as to how tired the old bouncer was. Barrows noted that the big ghoul's armor and shotgun were both lying in the chair next to the bed. _Yeah, the second coming is defiantly on it's way._

Barrow had only felt uncomfortable a few times since the war and never in _his_ infirmary. Now he found himself easing back out of the room. He tried to tell himself it was because his patient needed her rest and not because he felt like he was peeping into a couple's bedroom.

Barrow's bumped into Nurse Graves on his way out and when she gave him a questioning look he'd nodded towards the still cracked door and stepped aside, whispering. "See for yourself,"

She poked her head in the door and went wide eyed, backing out as quickly as Barrows had.

"I know I haven't been here as long as he has," she started, looking up at her boss, "But I don't think I've ever seen him without his armor,"

Barrows shook his head. "Neither have I and I've been in underworld since it was founded,"

"I…Given how exhausted they both are, I think we should let them sleep."

Barrows looked from his nurse to the door of his clinic, torn. Nurse Graves smiled and patted his arm, "Come on, I think you deserve a morning off. You haven't taken a single day to yourself in over fifty years and today you don't have an excuse not too,"


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

When Rachel woke up again she felt better and worse at the same time. There was a lot less fog in her head but her damaged area's hurt like a bitch. The first thing she'd do when she saw the doctor would be to ask what he'd had to do to fix her up.

Charon was still sleeping but his arm tightened around her when he sensed her move. She smiled and nuzzled his chest through the thin black fabric of his shirt. The ghoul twitched and she felt him press what was left of his nose into her hair.

"Charon?" she asked softly, "you awake?"

"Mhmm," he sighed into her hair and Rachel shifted gently, sliding up onto his chest instead of cuddling against his side. Charon wrapped both arms around her and she tucked her head under his chin. She wasn't tired anymore but she didn't have any driving need to get out of bed either.

"Charon…I…I want you to know that I feel things for you," she whispered to him when she was sure he was sleeping soundly. "I'm not the kind of girl that has these sorts of feelings; I don't have boyfriends or lovers. Hell I get spooked if my one night stand comes looking for me the next day. I do have feelings though, they are confusing and I don't know exactly how to describe them but they're there…and they're for you, okay?"

Rachel turned her head enough to kiss the underside of his chin and Charon squeezed her. The ghoul made a pleasant noise and she smiled. Charon's eye lids slid open a few minutes later and he focused on her sleepily. When he realized he was holding her to his chest like she was a teddy bear he tried to let go of her but Rachel twisted her fingers into his shirt and shook her head.

"No, I like where I am," she reassured him. "Nothing bad will ever happen as long as I'm right here,"

She felt him relax under her and he resettled his arms around her again. "I am glad you know where you are safest. How do you feel now?"

Rachel tipped up one corner of her mouth. "I wouldn't say no to some Med-X,"

Charon nodded once and kissed her boldly, delighted when the little smoothskin in his arms kissed him back. "I will go get doctor Barrows, promise me you'll be here when I get back?"

Rachel nodded, "I'll do my best. Hand me my gun though, okay?"

Charon shifted out from under her and handed over Maria, glad Rachel was taking precautions. He wouldn't be gone long but recent events had made him nervous. He buckled his armor back into place and picked up his shot gun with a speed that came with years of experience while she watched. He leaned down to give her another kiss, some joyous emotion filling his chest when she eagerly accepted his offered lips.

"I will be right back, if anyone comes in here without me shoot them,"

"Shoot them?"

"yes, shoot them. If they don't mean you harm Barrows can patch them up when he gets here,"

Rachel laughed and grinned at him, "alright, I promise."

Charon left and Rachel settled back against the pillows and checked over her gun, making sure it was loaded and ready to fire. The glowing ones hacked in in their enclosure and Rachel heard people moving around outside the door. Her breath got a little faster and she gripped the gun tightly, trying to calm herself out of the panic attack building inside of her.

* * *

Barrow's sipped his forth cup of coffee with nurse Graves sitting across the table in Carol's Place. Carol was laughing, something he'd heard the woman do much more of this morning with the young deathclaw to entertain her.

Carol tossed the animal a snack cake and chucked when he snapped it out of the air. "There a good boy," she cooed.

"You're going to spoil him Carol," a deep voice rasped and Barrows saw Charon standing in the open doorway with his ever present scowl. The big ghoul locked his eyes on the doctor and jerked his head towards the infirmary, "She needs med-X,"

Barrows got out of his seat leaving a pile of caps on the table to cover the drinks both he and his nurse had had over the course of the morning. Carol smiled at Charon, "I am just giving him a little love" her smile widened, "how did you sleep dear?"

Nurse Graves let a giggle slip and Charon lifted one inquiring eyebrow. "Fine?"

There was no way anyone would have been able to enter the clinic without him waking immediately but the way Carol and Graves was looking at him was all too knowing.

Barrow cleared his throat and sent a halfhearted glare and the women. Of course they'd been gossiping about the big mercenary and the little smoothskin all morning but he wasn't she Charon would appreciate their sudden interest in his personal life. "Knock it off,"

Barrows left and Charon followed with a last glance over his shoulder at the chuckling women. "It's early afternoon," Charon commented slowly. He'd glanced at Carol's wall clock and the time had surprised him. "You and Grave didn't have to wait for us"

Barrows shook his head, knowing what Charon was asking without asking, "Nurse Grave and I decided a morning off wouldn't hurt. Since you and that little smoothskin looked so peaceful tangled up together,"

If Charon's remaining skin wasn't already red it would have turned it. "I can't believe the door opened and I didn't wake up" he growled.

Barrows shrugged, reaching for the clinic door. "You exhausted yourself searching for her and you knew you were in a relative safe zone. I'm sure if you were anywhere else you would have blown my head off,"

Charon cracked a rare smile, "Nice of you to say I'm not going soft,"

Barrow nodded and stopped short just inside the door. Charon was right behind him and gave Rachel an approving look as she lowered the gun pointed at the people who'd entered.

"This is the Doctor?" she asked softly, clutching her weapon.

Barrow went to his desk and pulled open a drawer as Charon returned to the woman who managed to cause him so much emotion in the short amount of time he'd known her.

"Yes, this is Doctor Barrows. His Nurse should be arriving shortly, are you alright?" he asked, glancing at her watery eyes and the slight trembling in her hands.

"I'm fine," she lied but Charon didn't buy it.

Dr. Barrow came over with Med-X in one hand and offered his other to her. She shook it while he talked, "You probably suffered a minor panic attack, they are to be expected after the trauma you've had."

The doctor gave her the Med-X and glanced at Charon. "I would like to talk to you about you're condition, you might prefer it to be a private conversation,"

Rachel shook her head, "No, whatever it is Charon can hear it. He'll be the one taking care of me anyway,"

Barrow pulled a stool over with his foot and sat down in an effort to be less intimidating. Not that he thought he was striking fear in the girl's heart.

"Very well. First, I cleaned out the drugs in your system and gave a pre-war medicine that will flush the addiction. You did sleep threw the addition withdrawal side effects but you should be aware that you will very likely be more susceptible to addiction in the future. The good news is that you weren't on them long enough to cause any lasting damage,"

Rachel nodded, relived.

"Now you're physical injuries. You had some minor lacerations along you inner walls and there was a lot of bruised tissue. Your pelvic bone was bruised too and you had a few cracked ribs along with she minor cuts and bruises on the rest of you. We applied stimpaks but I am worried about infection. I want you to stay in bed tonight, just give yourself a chance to heal. Judging from you're older injuries you know how to take care of wounds."

Rachel subconsciously touched the knotted scar on her shoulder and nodded. Charon took her hand and Barrows sighed, "Finally I want to warn you about mental damage that might present itself later. Like panic attacks, nightmares, insomnia. These can be just as dangerous as physical infection. Watch out for sighs of post-traumatic stress disorder. It's important when these situations occur to keep calm and try to remember that it's over now. You are safe,"

Barrows held her gazed and she tightened her grip on Charon's hand. "I understand, PTSD sound like a bitch but me and insomnia and nightmares all know each other pretty well, long walks in the wasteland can show you some pretty gruesome stuff,"

Barrow nodded and wrote something on his clipboard, "If you'd like I can give you something to help you sleep and for the nightmares you can talk to Nurse Graves. Sometimes talking through past events can ease them in our minds. Graves would be more than happy to talk,"

Rachel gave him a crooked smile, "Not you?"

"Absolutely not, Talk to Graves if you have to talk," he told his patient firmly.

Rachel bit back a small chuckle, "Okay but I probably won't and I don't need sleeping pills either. I… I consider my poor sleeping habits a punishment for the things I've done,"

Charon frowned and met the Doctors eyes. It became clear Rachel wasn't going to elaborate but Charon made a mental note to ask Barrows for the sleeping pills later. Whatever she'd done, however bad she might think it is…it wasn't as bad as the things he'd done. she didn't deserve haunting dreams and near constant exhaustion.

"I'm going to give you another Stimpak and some Med-X in case you need them. Try to stay in bed as much as possible today and take it easy for the rest of the weak, if you have problems or questions come find me,"

Barrows passed the drugs to Charon and applied a stimpak to her upper thigh before he left again. Charon pocketed the Med-X and returned to his chair next to her bed.

"Charon?"

"Hmm?"

Rachel fiddled with her blanket, "Don't think you have to sit here with me. If you wanna go wander you can. I have my gun, I'll be alright,"

Charon shook his head even as she talked, "No, I'd rather sit here with you. You're more interesting than most other the assholes here combined,"

"Only most?"

"There are a couple of them who have managed to surprise me in the past few days," he explained vaguely.

Rachel leaned over and hauled the chair with her things stacked on it closer, looking it over. She was missing the caps that had been in her pockets along with her meds and ammo. Her hunting rifle was missing completely and she scowled.

"Where's my gun?"

"I didn't find it in the bunker but I wasn't looking for it either, I'll go check for it later if you like,"

Rachel nodded slowly, "If you don't mind but it's probably gone," she growled and ran a hand threw her hair.

"Probably," he agreed.

Rachel's head jerked up as she thought of something else, "Fuck! Charon where's my pack?"

Startled he grabbed it, hefting it onto the bed for her, "what?"

She flipped it open and drug threw it, letting out a relived breath when she found her First Recon beret. "For a second I thought I'd had it in my pocket, I'm so glad I still have it,"

Charon nodded and then his own eyes widened as he looked over her ripped pants and tattered shirt sitting in the chair. "Rachel?" he asked, fear shooting up his spine.

She looked up, concerned "yes?"

"I didn't find your under garments…"

"I noticed, perverted fucks. I'll see if Tulip has more later, that's not a big issue."

"That isn't but... Rachel where's my contract!" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Rachel paled for a second but then relaxed, leaning back her head and thanking whatever gods might be listening at the moment. "Safe, thank god I moved it!"

"Where is it? As my employer I have no right to ask you that but please, for my own peace of mind," he was almost pleading with her. The fear in his veins leaching away way too slowly for him to be reassured by just her words.

"It's in Claws' collar, the buckle I used for it has a secret compartment inside." Rachel took his hand and pressed her forehead to his scarred fingers. "I figured the safest place for it was around a deathclaws neck,"

Charon pulled her into a tight embrace, relief overwhelming him for a moment. "That's my clever smoothskin,"

Rachel giggled, it was lighter than before. Every minute with him helped bury her past few days of torture and return to herself. "I do my best, hey Charon do you have any food?"

"No but I'll get you some,"

He paused long enough to tell her to keep her gun in hand and left quickly. Rachel obeyed even though she didn't need to be told. With Charon gone the clinic was quiet. Too quiet. The distant voices and the footsteps passing the door sped her pulse up like it had the last time he left and she grit her teeth.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself slowly, it was an exercise she'd learned years ago to combat panic attacks. "You're in Underworld, you're safe. Charon will be back any minute, count the seconds. One…two…"

* * *

Charon returned as fast as he could with various boxes of food tucked in his arms. Carol had offered to make noodles or maybe a bit of meat but Charon didn't want to wait and wasn't sure what Rachel would be able to stomach right now.

He opened the clinic door and his heart stuttered when his eyes fell on Rachel empty bed. "_Rachel?!"_

Movement sounded on the other side of the bed and two wide golden eyes peeked up over the edge of the mattress along with the barrel of her gun. Charon's heart started back up again and he dumped the food on the bed while Rachel covered the door with the barest of a tremble in her hands.

The big ghoul stepped around the edge of the bed and crouch down so he was eye level with her. This, he assumed, was exactly what Dr. Barrows had been talking about.

"Hey," he said softly and she glanced at him quickly. "hey, what are you doing?"

"1,278…1,279…"

"Rachel…" Charon gently pried the gun from her hands and checked it. Fully loaded and the safety was off. _That a girl._ "Come on smoothskin," he took ahold of her shoulders and tried to get her to stand up but the animalistic warning growl made him pause. She sounded like an animal he'd know before the war…a…_a cat_. That was it. She sounded like an angry cat.

Charon slid his hands up her arms, along her neck and up until his big hands cupped her ears, blocking out any sounds she might be focused on. Rachel blinked a few times, confused but then awareness lit her eyes. Charon turned her head and she blinked at him.

"_Charon…?"_

He nodded, not sure how to proceed. Rachel carefully looked around the room and let out a long breath, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she came back to herself. Rachel bit her lower lip and looked up at him because even crouched he was still three or four inches taller than she was.

"I…I…Was just…covering the door?…apparently," Rachel shifted her eyes away and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Charon let go of her face and she looked down. He thought about going to get the doctor but he didn't want to leave her alone again. Not if he was going to come back to find her barricading the clinic.

"You are supposed to be in bed," he told her instead, trying to be gentle and stern at the same time.

Rachel nodded. "Okay,"

Charon helped her back into bed and covered her up. "Are you alright? Can you tell me what just happened?"

"I…I don't know exactly," Rachel wasn't looking at him but she did keep talking. "You left and I was fine. But then I could hear the people outside and footsteps and it was like I was back in there. Only this time I wasn't drugged or chained up. I had to protect myself so I set up a perimeter, the room went all dark and I got down because they were coming."

Charon sat on the bed next to her as her breath started to get rapid again and pulled her into him. He had one of her ears pressed against his chest and his hand over the other. "It's alright smoothskin. You're safe with me right?"

She gave a small nod against his chest.

"Well I'm right here. And I will never let anything bad happen to you,"

Rachel relaxed slowly while Charon held onto her. He was a rock, a boulder, Charon was a grounding force for her. He kept her in the present. "Am I going crazy?"

"No," he told firmly, "I've seen something like this before. Before the bombs. I think you are having post-traumatic stress flashbacks. I saw people get them when I served in the war,"

"How do I get rid of them?"

"I do not know. Time maybe? You are an incredibly strong person and this experience will fade,"

"I hope so, I really don't need to be reliving anything more then I already do. I'm glad you're here. I- oh my god! Charon where's Claws? He was hurt and-"

Charon slid a hand over her mouth with a chuckle. "He is fine. Although you may have some competition for his affection. He's been attached to Carol's hip since yesterday afternoon,"

"Wait, wait, wait! _Carol?_...Gobert's Carol?"

"Gobert?"

"That's what I've been calling him in my head,"

He cocked an eyebrow. "What do you call me in your head?"

A blush warmed her cheekbones, "Nothing, what? Don't worry about it. So Carol?"

"_Rachel,"_ He growled, glad that she was acting like herself.

"Char-bear," She giggled, grinning with her thumb nail between her teeth.

The ghoul froze and Rachel's blush got brighter as she tried not to giggle like an idiot. "I can't control what my brain dose!"

"But…_Char-bear?_"

"Yes. I can't even help it at this point, I'll probably slip and start saying it out loud soon too. Now, why dose Carol have Claws?"

Charon explained everything to her, including Winthrop's first name and the strict school teacher that was hiding inside Carol. By the time he was finished Rachel was laughing so hard tear were staining her cheeks and she was gasping for breath. Charon grinned at her, thrilled and delighted that he'd made her laugh like that.

There was a knock on the door and Rachel immediately stiffened though Charon could tell she was fighting it. He picked up his gun and stood before he told whoever it was to come in. The door opened and Claws burst in, finding Rachel immediately.

He darted past Charon and jumped onto the bed, licking Rachel's skin everywhere he could find it. He kept his long claws curled and out of the way but other than that he was all over her. Charon finally grabbed his collar and hauled him back. It took a lot more effort than he thought it would, Claws was strong.

Carol set a bowl of something that smelled surprisingly good on the table next to Rachel's bed and smiled. "I thought you could use something hot to eat, how are you feeling dear?"

"Better," Rachel assured the kind woman, still rubbing Claws' face while Charon kept him from crushing her. "Thank you for looking after my boy,"

"My pleasure dear, anytime you need a baby sitter you let me know. He's a sweat heart," she smiled warmly and after a few more pleasantries' she left, leaving Rachel's odd little family to celebrate her safe return.

* * *

**Char-bear and Gobert...two of my favorite ghouls!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Rachel stayed in bed like she'd been told; at first. After three days her own gypsy nature started to outweigh doctor's orders. Charon was attentive to her though and with him there to help chase away the boredom Rachel was still a few notches above miserable.

That was until he left, then she got less panicked and more twitchy.

Charon was cleaning his gun in the seat next to her while she worked on his leather armor. That's when Quinn came into the clinic. He waved to Rachel and she smiled, she'd met the man yesterday and her gut told her that he was a good person.

"Charon, we have some raiders that moved into the metro. I could use some reliable back up cleaning them out," Quinn was asking Charon even though his eyes flicked to Rachel.

"Take Willow," Charon told him without a second of hesitation.

"If I did we would still need someone to guard out front," Quinn pushed,

Rachel picked up Maria in a show of good faith and smiled at her ghoul. "Go on Charon, I'm a lot better than I was three days ago," She lifted the armor on her lap with a rag still on the metal plate she'd been buffing. "I'll work on my own until you get back. Besides it's been days since you killed something, you must be getting a little restless sittin' in this clinic all the time,"

"I stood in the Ninth Circle for over seventy years smoothskin, and the scenery this time is an imminence improvement,"

Rachel felt some heat color her cheeks and she shooed him with her hand. "Go on, I have my gun and Dr. Barrows will be in and out all day. Go kill some raiders and then come tell me all about it. I can live dangerously through you until you two let me go out again."

Charon hesitated but Rachel could tell he wanted to go. Hell with the amount of sexual tension that had built up between them she wanted him to go. Rachel even seriously considered sneaking out to join them. She was going to have to do something pretty soon to quiet her lust or _she_ might just go feral.

"Fine, shoot anyone you don't know who comes in here." He told her, taking his armor from her lap. His fingers brushed her thigh in the process and fire shot straight to her center. Rachel gritted her teeth in an effort to hide the effect he had on her and waved as the men left, telling them to be careful. It was a relief when they were out of the room.

Once the sound of Charon's heavy boots faded she sat there quietly for a minute just listening. She heard footsteps and ghouls but she didn't feel any panic swelling up. That was good. it meant she hadn't lied when she said she was better.

Pleased with herself Rachel set to work cleaning Maria. When the 9mm was sparkling she dutifully picked up her armor, unfortunately it didn't need work. Since Charon hadn't found her original armor in the bunker when he'd gone to look for her stuff this suit was new. Tulip had done wonders on is already. Charon hadn't found her rifle either and _that_ pissed her off. He had found her boots, probably they were too small for the pricks picking over the rest of her stuff.

Now, with nothing to do Rachel growled and ran her hand threw her greasy hair, surprised at the length it had gotten. Maybe Charon would like her to grow it out? It got be something to grab onto, yank on when- Rachel stopped her thoughts right there. She needed to remind herself that the ghoul wasn't interested…for whatever reason. He hadn't kissed her since the first night here after all, and since they were stuck with each other until her found a way to destroy his contract she wasn't going to pursue him.

Rachel tugged her hair again and had to banish the images the action summoned to her sex deprived brain. Maybe she should go ask Carol if Underworld had anyone who could cut it. After a bad experience a new haircut would be great, new hair new attitude and all that. Besides, long hair was a pain in the ass.

She wasn't ordered to stay bed ridden anymore either, she was just supposed to relax. Charon was the one that looked a little bit panic stricken every time she wanted to go to the bathroom. _Mother hen._

So now with the warden off attending to business she could be gone and back again before he came back and had a fit. He would know because her hair would be different and she wouldn't keep it from him anyway but she'd be back in bed by the time he found out.

A little self-maintenance time would be good for her, she decided.

Rachel tossed off the blankets and swung out of bed, the cold marble under her feet had her scrambling for her socks and cursing herself for not pulling them on first. She switched into her jeans and laced up her boots before she ran a brush threw her hair. It didn't really help.

Rachel left her green jacket on the chair since it was always overly warm in Underworld anyway and holstered her gun at her hip. Years on her own made her listen at the door before she pulled it open a few inches and slipped out.

A few ghouls looked at her curiously but she didn't see anyone she recognized. Her first stop was Carol's Place. Claws greeted her enthusiastically when she came in and Rachel smiled, rubbing him with affection people saved only for beloved pets.

Greta looked her over with a fist on her hip, "Are you supposed to be up?"

Rachel ducted her head sheepishly, "That depends on who you ask, but Charon's out with Quinn and I'm bored,"

Carol poked her head around the corner and grinned. "Oh it's so good to see your pretty face! How are you feeling dear?"

"Honestly? I'm getting a little stir crazy. I need a change of scenery; I'm just going to have to talk Charon into leaving Underworld,"

Dr. Barrow's strolled in behind Carol and looked at her. Rachel blushed and shifted behind Claws. "Oh, hello Doctor,"

"I'm not sure I like you sneaking around kid, if you want to be up then you should have asked somebody to walk with you,"

"I'm not _sneaking_ per say, I ran out of shit to do. Besides, I'm not crippled. I feel fine," Rachel defended.

"Fine?" Barrows asked, tapping his temple with one long finger.

Rachel nodded, "Yes, I didn't panic at all when Charon left,"

Barrows looked her over again for a long moment and sighed. "Well I can't keep you here. Later today I will give you a checkup," he promised, "If you really are fine I'd be fucking thrilled to get my infirmary back,"

Rachel grinned at him sweetly, "Thank you doctor,"

Barrows growled and dismissed her with a wave of his hand. The girl chuckled and looked at the blond woman still looking at her. "Is there anybody who could cut my hair?"

She was directed to Snowflake and the ghoul barber was more than happy to work with her.

"I tell ya kid it's been ages since I had a full head of hair to work with. Ghoul's don't exactly promise a lot of repeat business. So what can I do for you?" he asked as he ushered her to sit in an old foldout chair.

"It's just so shaggy right now, can you clean it up? Give me something that fits a badass sniper like me," she grinned as Claws sniffed around the room.

"You want me to do anything with the color?"

Rachel pulled a strand of her red hair out to inspect and nodded, "Sure, why not? If you want to make it a few shades darker that would be great. Like the color of fresh blood,"

Snowflake nodded, setting supplies on the table next to her chair. "Sure thing kid, you tryin' to get Charon's blood up?" the ghoul joked.

Rachel gave a barked laugh in surprise. "I'm not sure yet, but how do you know what gets his motor runnin'?"

Snowflake flashed a gap toothed grin. "I have been in Underworld since before he got here. Big merc like that is gonna take pleasure in what he does. Not enough caps in the world to get me to believe he ain't the kinda guy that gets blood lust,"

Rachel just laughed because she couldn't deny it. Even though she'd never seen it Rachel got the feeling that Snowflake was right. Snowflake was a friendly ghoul and Rachel chatted with him while he worked. Rachel told him about how she came to be with Claws and he caught her up on local gossip. Apparently there was a rumor that Quinn and Willow were sleeping together and another that Greta was enjoying more than just cigarettes when she went out for her evening smoke break.

While Rachel's new darker hair air dried Snowflake trimmed up the wet locks. When he put his scissors down she pulled out her pouch of caps but he waved his hand. "Not a chance kid, no charge. I told you I haven't worked on a full head of hair in years, anytime you wanna cut come see me."

"But you dyed it too. Color isn't easy to find," she argued but he was shaking his head.

"I get by, now put those away,"

Rachel did, vowing to slip some caps into his pocket later. When her hair was dry he brushed it out and applied a gel to the back. He held out a cracked mirror and she grinned, it was perfect. The sides and back were maybe an inch long and pixie spiked while her bangs remained long. He had taken off the split ends and angled them to frame her face though.

"Snowflake! You magnificent bastard, I love it!" She grinned, bouncing in her seat. The ghoul chuckled, embarrassed.

"Glad to hear it kid,"

"Well I should probably get back before Charon returns and I'm not in bed."

Snowflake's eyes widened, "You mean he doesn't know you're up here?"

"Nope, and I didn't have any way to leave a note,"

"Christ kid, you trying to get us all killed?" he asked and Rachel could tell he wasn't entirely joking.

"Charon will be fine as long as I don't give him a panic attack," she reassured her new favorite barber as she moved towards the open archway. "Come on Claws, let's get-"

"RACHEL!" her name thundered threw the old marble hall accompanied by the crack of the clinic doors being thrown against the walls.

"_Too late_," she cursed, jogging to the banister with Claws trying to hide behind her as she moved.

"What?!" she yelled pleasently, leaning over the edge of the railing in an attempt to see her big ghoul. He moved into her line of sight and she was pretty sure the exposed muscle she could see paled a few shade when he caught sight of her.

"Get fucking back before you fall!" He snarled, "Why the hell aren't you in bed!"

Rachel scowled, even though she understood where his concern was coming from his tone still made her hackles go up.

"Because I'm not an invalid!" she snapped, "I'm fine. Quit yellin'"

Charon growled and Rachel watched him half run up the stairs. Just to be spiteful she swung one leg over the railing and straddled it. She was sitting comfortably when he reached the landing and his string of curses started all over again when he saw her.

"Gods all damned crazy ass fucking woman!" he reached for her but froze when she leaned away over open air. "Rachel…come _here_," he growled.

Rachel glowed back, noticing the crowd that had started to gather. Ghouls were poking their heads out of doorways or looking up from their places in the main hall. Some of them looked amused while others looked terrified.

"No," she told her bodyguard.

"_Rachel_…" he warned.

A door opened and Greta looked out into the hall. She gave a bark of laughter and stepped out to watch. "Carol you should come see what's happening,"

Charon glanced her way angrily but he looked back to his smoothskin just as quickly.

"Rachel, stop fucking off. You need to be in bed." he hissed threw gritted teeth.

Rachel pretended to think about it for half a second and shrugged, "No, fuck off. I'm tired of being in bed."

"I think we should ask Barrow to give you something else, you are irrational,"

Rachel sucked in a breath and stiffened. From the similar gasps from the other two women within earshot Charon could tell that he'd said something very bad.

Rachel leaned towards him and for the first time in two hundred years he felt truly afraid for his own safety. "What the fuck did you just say to me?" she asked, her voice cold and quiet.

"I did not-"

"Move," she ordered and he did it immediately.

Rachel hopped to the floor and drew herself up. "I know myself and I know that I've recovered as much as I'm going too. As soon as I find myself a decent weapon we're leaving,"

She left him standing there and jogged down the stairs without so much as looking over her shoulder. She knew she might have over reacted but she was still too irritated to feel bad about that.

"Oh dear," Carol murmured and followed her, Claws leading the way.

Charon watched her cross the floor and walk into Underworld Outfitters. He made a move to follow but Greta cleared her throat and shook her head. "I would give her some space,"

"She'll get into trouble,"

"Maybe," the woman agreed, "but she's pissed and it will be better for both of you if you let her calm down,"

Charon growled, "She has no reason to be angry. Her medication is doing something to her,"

Greta cocked an eyebrow, "She finally feels good enough to be out and about and you insult her for it? Of course that made her mad. Now really think, before her kidnapping would she taught you by climbing up on that banister?"

Charon's scowl lessened as he looked over the old railing. _Yes_, he realized. "She is better," he said it softly, defeated.

Greta nodded, "Against my better judgment I like that little smoothskin. Try to keep her alive without pushing her to do something spiteful. I'd hate for her to get say…killed in Paradise Falls because she was trying to prove herself,"

Greta went back into Carol's place and Charon was left to grumble. His training was telling him to take her anger and follow his employer anyway. His instincts were tell him to take Greta's advice and leave her be. He compromised and leaned back against the wall so he could keep an eye on the big room. There was only one way in or out of Tulips and he'd be able to spot anyone trying to get in to harm his smoothskin.

* * *

Rachel was muttering curses under her breath while she counted out the last of her caps for a shitty 9mm SMG. It was the best she could afford even with the discount Tulip had given her. All the extra parts, weapons and scrap they'd been carrying they'd already sold to pay Doctor Barrows.

"I could loan you a few caps if you'd like," Carol offered. The woman had been trying to get her to talk about her _feelings_ but she'd given up when Rachel just kept shaking to head.

Now the red head sighed, "No, thank you though. No, we need to do some scavenging and there are plenty of places here in the city. Since people seem to think the place is still over run with super mutants there has got to be some good shit around."

Carol chuckled and nodded, "Oh sure, you might want to try the Museum of Technology just across the mall or even the closed off places here."

When Rachel looked up with interest Tulip asked, "You didn't know there were other area's to this museum did you?"

"No, but this is a settlement. Wouldn't any uncollapsed areas be picked clean?"

Carol laughed, "Well most human stay out of Underworld and I believe the only person who goes into that abandoned wing is Winthrop when he's looking for scrap metal. You might find something worth selling, just be careful dear. I know there are quite a few feral ghouls over there. People go crazy and then their friends don't have the heart to put a bullet in their brain, so they get contained,"

"People wouldn't get mad if I did it?" Rachel probed, not sure how she would feel in a similar situation.

"I don't think so; we all know that once you turn the human part of you dies. Those are just the shells of the people who were once friends," Tulip explained sadly, "and not many things besides rad roaches can get in there so they are starving to death anyway. You would be doing us a favor and them a kindness,"

Rachel thought about it, chewing her lower lip. "Alright, I'll see what I can do,"

* * *

Charon saw Rachel the second she stepped out of the store. He didn't move to meet her though, just watched as she made her way back to the clinic. He hoped that she was going to take a nap but she reemerged a few minutes later and to his surprise she was in her armor and had grenades clipped to her belt along with her guns.

His muscles screamed but he held his ground, fighting the contract that said he had to rush to her side. It was more of a relief then he could imagine when she looked up and her eyes landed on him. Rachel jerked her head towards the door and he moved to her at once.

"I didn't think you would want to leave until the morning," he commented, trying to sound like he didn't actually care. He wasn't fooling anybody.

"We have a job," she told him, strolling for the doors. Tulip had given her directions.

"A job? You were only out of my sight for a few minutes." he was surprised and Rachel grinned in spite of her attempt to stay mad.

"A good girl like myself can find work in the strangest places,"

Charon chuckled too, there fight evaporating. "Smoothskin you are far from a good girl, what's the job?"

Rachel told him the detail and Charon made an effort not to imagine ways to kill the women who'd put her up to this. At least they were still in the building. If something did go wrong the clinic was close and he could think of worse places Rachel would want to scavenge.

Cleaning out the feral was a decent thing to help her get back on her feet anyway and he understood why they'd want a stranger to do it. Hell, there were a few feral ghouls in there that Charon himself had known. People he'd seen deteriorate as they drank in the Ninth Circle. A couple ghouls who traveled and would sit at the table closest to him to have loud conversations about the things they'd done. He'd appreciated that even though he wouldn't have admitted it at the time. Max and Rory had been there names.

Rachel led the way around a fast talking ghoul who claimed the Aqua Pura he was selling made his hair grow back. She ignored the mutters as people commented on both her, her relationship with Charon and her pet. Charon was right behind her when she opened the door a crack and slipped inside silently.

He followed suit and it wasn't long before they were ass deep in hungry man eaters. Rachel fought like she handled hoards like this every day and Charon adored the sight of her grinning while she sprayed bullets into her enemies.

At first he picked them off as fast as he could but after seeing how much fun Rachel was having he started to let up, letting her slaughter to her heart's desire. He still didn't let anything get close enough to harm her and with Claws it was a quick fight, all things considered.

Charon blasted apart a turret on the second floor after they cleared the area and followed his mistress. They found salvage in every room. Things to both sell and replace their supplies. The offices had just as many if not more feral ghouls and Charon had to admit that he had needed this as much as she had. The way she moved against him in her sleep, grinned at him during the day and a thousand other thing she didn't notice was making it impossible to ignore her.

The dreams he'd been having weren't helping his case. Dreams were he got to feel just how soft her skin was and nimble fingers worked over his exposed muscle. It was maddening. It was also unrealistic. He'd kissed her both times in moments when she'd been vulnerable and while she still slept next to him he hadn't done it since. He didn't want to take advantage of her and how could she want a rotted out corpse like him anyway.

Charon caught the familiar green of a glowing one and spun, he brought his gun up as it charged but the thing stumbled and hesitated looking at him with its head cocked. Its clothes were tattered like the rest of them but a glowing crest shaped scar on the side of its face made Charon curse.

"_Max…_?"

It hacked, twitched and lunged violently. A smooth arm wrapped around its head and knee clutched it's waist as Rachel jumped on the things back, barking, "For fuck's sake Charon!"

She dropped her gun and yanked the knife from her boot, slitting _Max's_ throat with a practiced ease that he was going to ask her about later. _Max_ fell to the floor with a gurgle as glowing blood sprayed threw the air, splattering both Charon's chest and Rachel's arms.

It was silent after _Max_ fell and Rachel disentangled herself from him. Charon watched her dust off her knees and she grinned at him, blood both luminescent green and dark red splattered over her skin.

"_Impressed_?" she drawled with a grin, wiping the blade on her thigh. Charon grabbed her roughly and dragged her against his armored chest, kissing her hard. Rachel gave a little yelp of surprise but she grabbed the collar of his leather jacket, pulling herself into his kiss.

Charon growled into her mouth and roughly dragged her leg hooking it over his hip with one hand while the other slid under her ass. Rachel was more than happy heave herself up and wrap her other leg around him. His hand found her short hair and he gave it a hard yank as he slammed her back against the wall, enjoying the little gasp that rushed past the skin of his cheek.

The bloods smeared together as he touched her and it only fueled them both. Charon's mouth attacked her throat and she groaned, her nails dragging along the back of his neck. Charon pressed her harder into the wall and recaptured her mouth while Rachel pulled demandingly at the buckles holding his armor in place.

Charon felt one buckle come loose and then the other, he shifted enough to give her access to the third running across his chest and snarled when his leg was swept out from under him. He crashed to the floor, only just managing to twist enough so that Rachel landed on top on him instead of flying to the bloody floor.

"The fuck!" he roared and tried to backhand the deathclaw still trying to drag him by his boot across the floor. It was at that moment that they both realized some to the roaring in their ears had actually been the snarling of Claws.

Rachel glared and the animal as she sat up. She was still straddling her big ghouls waist as she barked, "Claws! No!"

He glanced at her and stopped moving.

"Drop him, now!" Claws growled defiantly but Rachel glared and he dropping Charon's boot. The ghoul swore and inspected to boot for damage. The leather was half shredded and warm blood was seeping out into the air.

"It that blood yours?" Rachel asked, shifting forward. Charon growled angerly and she scowled, scanning the room. Charon knew she'd though it was a pained growl when she muttered something about radiation and got off of him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to correct her but he wished she'd stayed on top of him for just a little longer.

Rachel returned with a couple of stimpaks and kneeled next to him, "let me see it,"

"It's fine smoothskin,"

"Charon-"

"I'm fine," he glared at Claws, "No thanks to you asshole!"

Rachel glared too, "Why do you think he did that?"

Charon had an idea, and to test his theory he took Rachel's wrist and pulled her against his chest, holding her. Claws snarled, snapping his teeth. "Fuck off," Charon glared, "She isn't in any danger,"

Rachel cocked her eyebrow at her deathclaw, getting to her feet. "Well that's going to get annoying,"

She put her hand on Claws to calm him and had a thought, "Oh, you said something to that Glowing one…" she trailed off while she looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah, I knew him. Max, he went feral…thirty years ago maybe,"

Rachel frowned, "was he a friend?"

"No, I wasn't permitted friends. But he and his partner Rory used to sit close to me the talk about their time in the wasteland. I know they didn't it for my benefit. They used to leave half full whisky glassed on the table for at closing, I'd knock 'em back while I cleaned,"

Rachel looked around at the bodies, "do you see the other one, Rory?"

Charon shook his head, "No, Rory was killed in the waste about a year before Max went feral. He didn't take Rory's death well, got depressed," Charon shrugged, she had already pieced together the rest.

"I'm sorry I killed him," she said quietly and Charon gave a bark of laughter.

"What the fuck would you have done instead? Max used to say he wouldn't die happy until he had a smoothskin ride him like her life depended on it, I'd say he died happy,"

Rachel laughed too, "Well…in that case I'm glad I could help,"


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

"It's not necessary," Charon grumbled, searching through the pockets of one of the downed ghouls.

"It is," Rachel insisted, hovering close to him. "Dr. Barrows needs to make sure there isn't any infection. Do you know how dangerous-"

"_Rachel_," Charon moaned, exasperated. "I am well aware of what infection can do. I am also a ghoul. I'm resistant to most things and a little radiation will take care of everything else,"

Rachel glared at Claws and pointed stiffly out of the room when he tried to inch his way back in. she'd been keeping him well away from them ever since he'd bitten Charon. Claws ducked his head and backed out, eyeing Rachel sadly with his good eye.

Charon sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "He was trying to protect you,"

"He bit you," Rachel growled "What if he attacks again? Jesus I should put him down right now!"

Charon shook his head, ignoring the way the pain in her voice was affecting him. "No you don't. If he wanted to hurt me you'd probably be dragging my half dead corpse back to Barrows. Come on Ray, forgive him. He didn't know what I was doing to you and he didn't know whether or not I was hurting you,"

Rachel blushed at the images that flashed in her mind and glared at her deathclaw again for interrupting.

Charon rolled his eyes and slapped his leg, "Come here asshole,"

Claws glanced at Rachel but skittered across the room to the ghoul. Charon rubbed his head and looked at his smoothskin, "See, he and I are still…._friends_, I guess."

Rachel watched them for a second and sighed, "Fine, but will you please let me look at your foot?"

"No, it's fine. Go search the other side of the room for shit we can sell," he told her firmly.

"Fine. When you die I'm writing _I told you so_ on your headstone," Rachel trudged to the nearest desk and set to work. She found a couple handfuls of caps and a magazine that looked interesting before she turned on her Pipboy light.

Charon looked over his shoulder as he pocketed a few shotgun shells and asked, "Did you find anything?"

"A few caps but nothing else useful or…hold on…"

Charon watched Rachel rub a grimy glass case with her sleeve. The girl's brow furrowed and she tested the lock, it was broken and the cases lid lifted without any resistance. He heard her left out a long breath and Charon moved across the room.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

"It's a gun…it's _beautiful_!" Rachel carefully lifted the repeater rifle from the dusty case and looked down the sight.

"The sign says that that is Abraham Lincoln's Repeater,"

"Who?" She asked, opening the chamber and inspecting it.

"One of the country's presidents long before the war happened. He worked to free the slaves," Charon told her, lifting a few bullets out of the case. "Looks like it takes .44's,"

A grin spread over Rachel's face, "I think I'm in love,"

Charon chuckled and handed her the bullets. She loaded her new weapon and slung the rifle over her shoulder. "Let's go back, we can sell what we have and I can clean this guy. We can head for Megaton in the morning,"

* * *

"_Helllooooo Caaappppitollllll Wastelaannnddd! This is Three Dog and you're listening too Galaxy News Radio! Okay children, you remember when I told you that Our Angel had been spotted in Underworld? Well it looks like she's finally walkin the wastes again. Remember, if you see a girl and ghoul and a deathclaw out there give 'em a big thank you because they are defiantly fightin' the good fight! And now the weather-"_

Rachel switched off her Radio with a shake of her head. "What the hell is the _good fight_? And how the hell does he know we've left underworld? It's only been a few hours, not three weeks like I threatened him!"

Charon shrugged his broad shoulders, "We can double back and pay him a visit,"

Rachel looked back towards the city and then shook her head, "Nah, we've gone too far. Hell I can see Megaton,"

They'd left Underworld early with plenty of supplies and caps in hand. Tulip had had quite a few .44's in stock and Charon had cleaned out her shotgun shells. By the time they reached the gates of Megaton it was only a little past noon. Mickey was sleeping under an overturned bathtub and Stockholm was at his post above the gate.

Rachel waved and the sniper waved back slowly, staring at them. She frowned and put her hands on her hips. Her frown deepened when he didn't open the gate. Instead he called for Simms.

"What?" she yelled at the crow's nest but Stockholm just kept starring. Rachel gave Charon a cocked eyebrow and he started to shrug but stopped shot.

"Shit," he rasped and pointed at Claws.

Rachel looked at her deathclaw and paled, she'd gotten so used to him following them around in Underworld that she'd forgotten about his situation here.

"Well Fuck me," she whispered.

They waited for a few minutes in silence before the screech of the door caught Rachel's attention. They opened enough for Simms to slip outside, followed by Jericho before slamming closed again.

Simms scowled and Rachel plaster on a large grin. "Hello Sheriff….what seems to be the problem?"

Behind her Charon snorted and she saw Jericho shake his scruffy head.

"What the flying fuck do you think is the problem? Kid you got a deathclaw in tow," Simms growled, gun aimed at her pet.

Rachel blushed a little and scratched the back of her neck, "Yeah, about that. I was going to tell you. When he got bigger we were leaving him out of sight but after him being with us in Underworld I forgot,"

"What the hell do you mean _when it got big!_?" Simms yelled. "Are you telling me you've had this fuckin monster in my town?!"

Rachel flinched and Claws stepped up beside her, growling softly. Rachel took ahold of his collar and bit her lip. "Maybe,"

"Jesus Christ! We got kids in this town! I was fine when you brought home your," he gestured wildly to Charon, "_Friend_…but this is different! What the hell were you thinking! That's a deathclaw! They are dangerous!"

"Hey!" Rachel yelled back, scowling just as hard as the Sheriff. "Don't talk about him like that! Charon is just as dangerous as Claws!"

Charon put a hand on Rachel shoulder and cleared his throat. "We are aware of the situation. We were leaving Claws outside when we were in town before and no travelers or merchants were hurt. He is well behaved, more so than _she_ is,"

Simms glared at them but Jericho started laughing, "Holy shit, you're that fucking Angel! The one that asshole on the radio keeps yappin' about,"

Rachel glared at him, "Three Dog has too much time on his hands,"

Simms glared harder, "I don't care if you're the fuckin goddess of the wasteland. You are not keeping that thing in or around my town,"

"We live here!" She argued

"Not anymore you don't!" Simms fumed.

Rachel gaped at the sheriff but Charon covered her mouth before she could make things worse.

"Ah come on Simms," Jericho said, flicking his cigarette on the ground. "It hasn't attacked us yet. Besides, if you kick them out I might get bored and leave too. Too bad I'm one of the few men in town who's a decent shot,"

Simms grumbled but finally he sighed, "I don't like it roaming around loose out here…"

Jericho snorted and drawled sarcastically, "Do you want us to build it a fucking coral?"

"Yes," Simms answered. "That would be a good solution. Build it a pen!"

Charon carefully lifted his hand from Rachel's mouth and she glared at him. "That wasn't necessary!"

"I think that it was," He told her evenly.

"You're an ass," Rachel turned to Simms, "A pen, alright. There is plenty of scrap around Springvale,"

Rachel moved to enter the town and glared when Simms stepped in front of her. She knew he wasn't going to let her in until Claws was contained and he knew she was going to be pissed off for a good long while when it came to him.

With a growl Rachel dropped her pack, pocked a few key items and headed for Springvale. Charon and Claws followed her dutifully and after a minute of debate Jericho swore and came along too.

Rachel told him he didn't have to but the old raider shrugged and told her he didn't have anything better you do. Claw kept his distance at first. It was funny see him acted all timid around a stranger because he was almost shoulder level with Rachel.

"So, how the hell did you manage that?" Jericho finally asked as they dragged a car door loaded with scrap back towards Megaton.

Rachel laughed and told him the story of how she'd come to own a deathclaw.

"You fed it? You've got to be out of your fuckin' mind!"

"Everybody says that! But you assholes went there!" Rachel defended with a grin, "he just looked so… _pitiful. _And kinda_ adorable_,"

Jericho stopped in his tracks and gawked at her. Charon stopped too and the men looked from the girl to the deathclaw.

"Yeah," Charon drawled, "Because deathclaw are cuddly balls of fur,"

"Exactly!" She laughed, ignoring the ghoul's sarcasm. "Adorable and pitiful and in need of rescuing. Kinda like when I first saw _you_,"

He scowled and his mouth fell open a little. "I _did not_ look pitiful,"

Rachel giggled and heaved the car door a few more inches, avoiding his gaze.

"And," The big ghoul continued, "I have never been adorable, smoothskin. I am a badass. I was born a badass and I'll die a badass,"

A shit eating grin he was growing to recognize split her face, "Whatever you say Char-bear,"

Jericho burst out laughing while Charon grumbled under his breath. He didn't stop grumbling until they'd hauled their scrap all the way back to Megaton. It was an hour past sunset by the time they'd constructed an enclosure that would keep Claws out of trouble.

Rachel had insisted that they make the walls solid instead hashing together a fence. It was a lot more for Claws' protection rather than to please Simms. She didn't want any well-meaning person to spot him close to town and put a bullet in his brain.

Right now the walls were about four feet tall so he could still see over the top if he stretched and so could most people of average height but for tonight it would be alright. Rachel pulled opened the gate and Claws followed her inside.

They'd fashioned a three sided shack inside so he could get out of the sun if he wanted too and the rest of the rounded space was open.

Sheriff Simms came to inspect their work after Claws' was locked inside. Claws grumbled at being contained but after Charon dragged a freshly killed mole rat into the pen and Rachel made Jericho help her move a small mattress into Claw's house he settled down.

"Can we go home?" Rachel demanded with her hands on her hips. She was tired and needed a drink. It was making her bitchy.

"I suppose this is fine for now, I want the walls higher when he gets bigger," he warned, leading the way inside. Simms went straight for his house and Rachel headed straight for Moriarty's Saloon.

"I thought you wanted to go home?" Charon teased,

"I want a nice cold whisky and something to eat. I'm fuckin' hungry,"

Rachel paused with her hand on the door and looked at Charon. When he cocked an eyebrow she winked and eased the door open gently. The bar was in full swing and only the people closest to the door noticed them come in.

Charon moved to the wall and Rachel pushed past a couple of people to get to the bar. She blinked at the old raider sitting on his barstool and cocked an eyebrow.

"How the hell did you get here before us?"

The old raider shrugged and lifted his glass.

Rachel shooed a man off of her bar stool and took a seat, grinning at Gob's back. The ghoul was busy and hadn't noticed her yet. He turned but didn't look up to see who he was talking too, while he poured vodka for someone.

"What can I get ya?"

"Two beers and too whiskeys, cold if you can manage it beautiful,"

Gob's head snapped up and joy lit his swollen face. "Kid! Boy am I glad to see you. Moriarty been especially nasty lately,"

Rachel scowled, "I can tell. What happened?"

Gob's face was swollen and bruised. Maybe the people who didn't spend a lot of time with ghouls wouldn't notice but she did. It looked like he'd gotten the fuck beaten out of him.

Her friend glanced around nervously as he set her order in front of her. "Nothin' kid, I got clumsy,"

"Maybe I should go have a talk with your boss," She hissed so the people closest to her wouldn't hear.

Gob shook his head fiercely. "No! No, Rachel it's fine. It's not the worst beating I've ever gotten. I didn't even break any bone, please kid. Don't get mixed up in this,"

Rachel opened her mouth but a big hand settled on her shoulder. She looked up at Charon and sighed. Charon looked Gob over while the smaller ghoul refilled Jericho's glass and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Leaning down he whispered into her ear, "It is best you leave him to deal with it. He doesn't have a slave collar, he could just leave if he wanted too. Moriarty doesn't have the caps to chase him all over the wastes and nobody would raise an eyebrow if he just disappeared,"

"Moriarty or Gob?"

"Gob kid, don't do anything stupid, you're on thin ice with Simms already," Charon warned, taking his beer from the counter.

Rachel sighed in frustration and lifted her whiskey, handing the other to Charon. "Cheers,"

"Cheers," he grumbled and they clinked glasses. Rachel knew that Gob should handle Moriarty himself but that didn't stop her from fantasizing about all the different ways she could kill him. So far her favorite was feeding him to Claws out in the wastes somewhere but she couldn't figure out how to get him there without people knowing she and her pet had been involved.

Charon glared at the man sitting next to Rachel until her got up nervously. The ghoul claimed the stool and they stayed there, drinking and talking quietly with Gob whenever he was close enough to hear.

He was refilling Rachel's whiskey glass when Moriarty poked his head out of his office and barked at him.

"Gob!"

The ghoul jumped and dropped the near full bottle in his hand. It bounced off the edge of the bar and shattered all over the floor. Rachel heard Gob whimper quietly under Moriarty's string of loud curses.

There weren't very many people left in the Saloon and they all fell quiet while Moriarty yelled furiously, say that Gob would be paying for that bottle. The other patrons when back to drinking but Rachel glared at the closed office door.

"Hey Gob," she whispered. "He doesn't mean he'll be adding the bottle to your debt…dose he?"

Gob sighed miserably. "No, but it won't be anything a little radiation from the bomb won't fix,"

Rachel grit her teeth, thinking very carefully. She felt like a mother deathclaw who's baby was in danger but knew she shouldn't rip the old Irish bastard apart. Charon could see her wheels turning and shifted so his knee discreetly touched hers.

She glanced at him and smiled tightly. "I can't leave him alone knowing that he's gonna have the shit beat out of him as soon as the door is locked,"

"Rachel I know you want to save him. I can't say I like the idea of leaving either but he's a ghoul. Simms won't be lenient. You will lose the house if you kill another citizen in cold blood," He cautioned.

"I know that," she hissed,

"Gob will have to be the one to deal with Moriarty. Simms probably won't kick him out for defending himself and if he does we can escort him back to Underworld," Charon reasoned. He was right and she knew it.

Gob stopped next to them a set two fresh beers on the counter. "We will be closing soon,"

Rachel checked her Pipboy, it was already close to two in the morning. She lit two cigarettes and hand one to Charon as she popped the cap from her beer. "Alright, do you want to come over to my place after work?"

Gob's eyes widened and he shook his head, "I don't think Moriarty would like that very much,"

Rachel nodded once and stood, hefting her pack. "Alright, but if you change your mind you're always welcome," her eyes shifted to the closed office door and she made a decision. Discreetly Rachel check to be sure nobody was watching them and slipped her hand into her pocket, pulling Maria from her holster.

She leaned over the bar and gave her friend a hug, slipping the small pistol into the back of his pants and tugging his shirt so the weapon was hidden.

"Just in case," she whispered as he stiffened. "I want it back before we leave town again,"

When Rachel leaned back she caught Gob giving Charon a terrified look and she elbowed her ghoul. Charon grumbled something that she didn't hear and she waved at Gob as they left. She could tell he wanted to give the gun back but he was too scared to pull it out of its hiding place. He'd be beaten all the worse if Moriarty caught him with it.

On the way back home Charon growled, "You've never hugged anyone like that before," he was trying to sound like he didn't care but was failing.

Rachel cocked an eyebrow, "You mean you didn't see?"

"I saw alright,"

She chuckled, "I gave him my pistol and I'm hoping it wasn't a mistake,"

"I hope he knows what end to hold," Charon told her and she wacked him with the back out her hand.

"Oh don't be mean, Gob is a ghoul. To survived this long he has to know how to shoot,"

Charon shook his head. "Gob isn't a prewar ghoul, he is only forty or fifty years old. I think I heard someone say he grew up in Little Lamp Light,"

"Little Lamp Light?" Rachel asked as she opened the door to their house.

"It's a town of children in some old caverns north west of here,"

"There aren't any adults there?"

"No, when they turn a certain age they get kicked out,"

Wadsworth greeted them at the door cheerfully, "Welcome home mistress,"

"Hi Wadsworth,"

"Will you require anything this evening?"

"No," Rachel told him politely. "You can go back to sleep, sorry we woke you up,"

Wadsworth bid them goodnight and returned to his sleeping dock.

Charon locked the door behind them and looked her over. "You still have blood on you,"

"I know, I'm going to wash up now and see what's in the fridge. I have a good buzz started and I don't want to give up on it now," she gave him a crooked grin and headed for the little kitchen.

Charon didn't usually like to do anything that would inhibit his combat skills but Talon Company was taken care of and Megaton was about as safe as they were ever going to get. She didn't take long to wash up and even though he wasn't watching he could follow her movements by the sound. When he heard the fridge door open he turned his head slightly to talk to her.

"Get me one too,"

"Really?" she called as he settled onto the couch. He heard her close the refrigerator and the clink of glass.

"I'm having a good day," he drawled and he heard her snort behind him. There was the sound of her light footsteps and then a glass was held in front of him. He took it and she jumped over the back of the couch, settling into the corner.

Rachel pulled the cork from a whisky bottle with her teeth and sloshed some of the amber liquid into his glass before filling her own.

"It's nice having a home to come back to," she commented, tucking her legs under her. She's washed off most of the blood and her boots were gone along with her armor.

"You didn't have a home in the Mojave?" he asked. There was a lot he didn't know about her like before he met her.

"Not really, I had a few friends I would stay with when I was in different settlements," she gulped half of her glass and smiled at some far off and fond memory. "Carla and Boone in Novac. Sunny Smiles in Goodsprings. Julie would let me sleep in the old Mormon fort when I was in Freeside or visiting The Strip,"

"The Strip?" Charon asked, refilling his glass and topping off hers.

"Mhmm, The New Vegas Strip. It's still standing you know. It's like stepping into a world before the war. I was amazed the first time I was there," she told him, sipping her whiskey.

"I remember I wanted to go to Las Vegas. Me and a couple of my unit buddies were going to go when we got back to the states, never got the chance." He told her, looking back into his own very distant past.

"The states?"

"Before the war the country what made up of fifty individual states. Like California and Nevada. My unit was sent overseas. The public wasn't aware of it but the conflict with the Chinese goes deeper than what most people were told. Hell we were the ones fighting and even we didn't know the whole of it,"

"What did you do in another country?" Rachel asked, sitting up.

Charon swirled what was left in his glass and downed it. He shook his head after a second and looked at her, reaching out to tug a long strand of her hair. "I'll tell ya someday smoothskin. They aren't nice stories,"

Rachel didn't like the sorrow in his eyes and moved the subject in a new direction. "So you have never got to go to Las Vegas? We'll have to go. We'll need four thousand caps to get in. there is a credit check at the gates, two thousand caps each,"

"We had better start saving then," Charon more than a little shocked that enough people had that kind of money to keep the strip open.

Rachel nodded as Charon shifted himself forward and unbuckled his armor. He piled it neatly on the chair next to the couch. Rachel watched, the fog in her brain prompting her to refill both their glasses while she stare at his muscles.

Charon accepted the new glass when he sat back and Rachel stretched, hooking her legs over his lap. Charon cocked an eyebrow at her but she just sighed with a sleepy little smile on her lips, leaning her head against arm of the couch. He shrugged and rested a hand on her calf while he drank.

"Hey Charon," she asked, eyes flicking over his muscled frame. "Why do you keep kissin' me?"

The ghoul choked on his whiskey. Rachel leaned forward and slapped him on the back a few times while he coughed.

"_What?"_ he rasped finally.

"I don't mind, you're fuckin' good at it. But you kiss me and then keep me at arm's length. It's a pattern I am not crazy about. Not that I want a steady beau or anything because I defiantly don't. I just don't want to be teased,"

Charon took a slow breath, avoiding her eyes. This was not a talk he wanted to have, he wanted to ignore the issue until it went away. "It is inappropriate for me to kiss you. You are my employer. In fact most of my behavior around you would have gotten me days of punishment from my trainers,"

"Why?" she was upset by the idea.

"Because I am supposed to be nothing but a weapon. You don't use me correctly though so I guess you're making me a man," he choose his words slowly, not sure if he was explaining it so that she would understand.

She chuckled softly, "Guess I'm not exactly sorry. You are a man and you deserve to act like one,"

"Three Dog is right," he told her, "you are a guardian angel. Thank you."

Rachel looked at him, his words weren't slurred but he had to be buzzed to be talking like he was. "For what?"

"For getting my contract, for saving me from the ninth circle of hell," a small smile tugged the corner of his mouth.

Rachel laughed and it was a beautiful sound. "Any time. Hey Charon? I'm sleepy,"

"Alright smoothskin,"

Charon pulled her into his arms and stood in a smooth motion. She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned against his chest, to intoxicate to care whether or not she was making him uncomfortable. It didn't matter anyway because he wasn't.

Charon carried her up the stairs, nudging her bedroom door open with his foot. He gently set her down on the old mattress and tugged the blanket over her. "I'm going to go get you some water for tomorrow, do you want anything else?"

"Nothing down stairs," she told him softly, curling into a ball.

Charon chuckled and left her. He retrieved the water from the kitchen and turned in time to see Rachel step from the last step to the floor. All she was wearing was her black tank top that didn't quite reach her belly button and a pair of black panties.

"Rachel," he growled, eyeing her like a hungry predator. She was going to be the end him, he knew it. "Where are your pants?"

She smiled, "Upstairs with my Pipboy,"

Charon didn't realize he'd moved until she reached out and ran a finger down his hard chest, the path she traced tingled delightfully and he wrapped a hand around her wrist to stop it. "What are you doing?"

"Touching you," she said softly, looking up at him from under lowered lashes.

"Why?" he asked, fighting every primal instinct he had to fuck her against the nearest wall.

"Why not?" she breathed,

Three minutes ago he might have had thirty reasons why it was a bad idea. Right now he was having trouble remembering most of them. "I'm a ghoul,"

Rachel nodded, "I noticed," she put her free hand on his shoulder and traced her index finger over the exposed muscle on his neck. He shivered under her touched and she tipped her chin up to meet his foggy blue eyes, "Do you want me to stop?"

Charon growled softly and covered her mouth with his hungrily. He didn't want her to stop, she should. _He_ should, but he didn't want to either.

The ghoul put a hand under her ass and lifted her against him. Rachel's legs instantly wrapped around his waist and he shoved her against the wall. Rachel moaned into his mouth and nibbled his lower lip while Charon's hands slid over her.

She kissed him back and skated her lips along his jaw, licking the naked muscle on the side of his neck. Charon groaned and ground his erection against her, lust blurring his mind more than the whiskey ever could.

"_Charon_," she moaned his name against his skin and he growled in response. Rachel bit the skin where his earlobe had once been and Charon hissed. Muscles shaky he used the last of his self-control to growl into her ear. "Tell me to stop,"

"No," the word was breathy against his throat.

"_Rachel_," he groan, "I- it been a very long time," the way her fingers where scraping over his back were doing nothing to help him get the words out. "I won't be gentle. It's not going to be sweat or tender," he growled again in response to the sinful things her lips where doing to his neck and he nipped her earlobe. "Order me to stop. Before I hurt you,"

Rachel sucked in a deep breath and nuzzled him. He heard her swallow hard and her words were husky. "Charon, I order you…to… do whatever you want to me,"

* * *

**Chapter 33... It will have ghoul sexy time. It's your personal reward for reading up to this point so i'm going to work extra hard on it and make it really nice. Just for you. Because you deserve it...I may also make you cookies...I haven't decided...**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Rachel gasped when his mouth descended on her's with an unrestrained hunger she'd never experienced. The man was going to ruin her for anyone else. She dragged desperately at his shirt, flinging it across the room as soon as it released her target.

Charon body was hot, warmer than any man she'd been with before and she pressed herself into him while her mouth ravaged his neck. Rachel ground herself against the hard bulge in the front of his pants and he slapped her ass.

She squeaked and bit his shoulder hard enough to make the big merc groan.

"Bed," she groaned, arching her back against the hard wall as he bit her back.

Instantly one strong arm wrapped around her waist and the other slid under her ass. Her back left the cold metal wall and Charon headed up the stairs, his kisses not lessening an iota. Rachel's mouth never left his skin as he moved, every step grinding his erection against her damp black panties.

Charon kicked the door open with more force then he'd intended and dumped his smoothskin onto the small bed. She immediately got her knees under her and set to work on his belts. Charon stopped her long enough to roughly strip off her shirt and toss it over his shoulder. He was vaguely aware that it had sailed through the still open bedroom door.

Rachel's bra was already gone, she must have taken it off in preparation for bed. The ghoul wasted no time in palming one perky orb, his other hand fisting into her hair while he kissed her. Rachel yanked his second belt from there loops and tossed it aside, dragging his pants down. He stepped out of his pants and kicked them aside. Like the rest of him the skin on his cock was patch worked and Rachel blinked, eyes widening. He was an impressive man.

Charon shoved her down on the bed and crawled over her. His hooked his fingers into her panties and ripped them off her legs, tossing them over his should. Rachel looked up at him, naked and beautiful with lust in her eyes.

Charon's libido was fueled by the need in her gaze and he bent, capturing on erect nipple between his lips. It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman but it was all coming back to him.

A breathy cry escaped Rachel throat as suckled her hard enough to bruise the skin and she loved it. She was on fire everywhere and ached between her legs was becoming unbearable. She needed him to take care of that. _Now_.

Almost like he was reading her mind Charon switched to her other breast, dragging a hand up her inner thigh and pressing one large long finger into her. Rachel cried out again and arched into his hand. Somewhere in the back on her lust filled mind she could swear she felt him grin against her breast.

Charon added a second finger and Rachel arched again, nails dragging roughly over his shoulders and rocking against his hand. Way too soon for her to be pleased with Charon pulled his digits for her aching core. She whimpered angrily and Charon flicked his tongue over her nipple a last time.

Rachel caught his hand and closed her lips over his slick fingers, sucking them clean. Charon groaned loudly, cock throbbing painfully and shifted over her. He propped himself up on one elbow and spread her legs with a knee. She didn't need much encouragement make room for him between her thighs.

Rachel could feel him against her inner thigh and she shifted her hip, shuttering. Charon didn't waste time with formality; he pressed his head to her slick opening and entered her with one hard thrust.

"_Charon_," Rachel moaned his name and bit his bicep, it was the closest thing to her teeth. The sound of his name on her lips did things to him he hadn't even though were possible. Charon drew back and thrust into her just as hard. He growled, setting a firm pace and she groaned, her legs warping around him.

Charon growled and bit her ear, slipping one arm under her head and massaging a perky breast with the other. Charon drove into her hard but she matched me thrust for thrust, making some wonderful sounds against his flesh as she worked her mouth over his skin and muscle alike.

It was only a few short minutes Rachel's breath was ragged and she could feel that wonderful tightening in her belly. She muscles trembled while Charon plunged into her heated body. Charon's pace quickened and he roughly hitched her leg over his driving deeper.

Rachel arched against him, the sudden force of her climax ripping a shriek from her throat. The rush swamping out everything but the pleasure the ghoul on top of her had created.

Charon gasped when she became impossibly tight, her inner walls shuddering as forcefully as the rest of her body around him. Halfway through her own orgasm Rachel groaned Charon's name again and he exploded inside her. He groaned, pumping until he was spent and she was panting beneath him.

Rachel looked up into his eyes, chest heaving with every breath she took. Charon kissed her damp shoulder and then her swollen lips. This time his mouth was tender, and Rachel ran her shaky fingers over his shoulders.

"W-wow…" Rachel panted softly, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth, "That…that was very nice,"

"Yeah," Charon agreed, rolling onto his back.

Rachel bit her lip sheepishly, finding herself suddenly on unfamiliar ground. "Now what? I've never slept with anyone I _wanted_ to see in the morning before. I always just waited till the guy fell asleep and left,"

Charon pulled her against his side and kissed the top of her head. "I can go to my room if it makes you more comfortable," he told her softly, relieved when she shook her head.

"No, I want you to stay."

Charon grinned like an idiot in the dark room, more than thankful that she couldn't see him. "Good, I want to stay,"

Rachel snuggled into the big man and he wrapped his tight arms around her, ready to hold her until she finally found sleep. To his great surprise she was out in only a few minutes and it gave him a strange sense of pride. Rachel never fell asleep easily; even with the amount of med-x Barrows was giving her it still had taken her almost half an hour.

He was tired but it was an hour before he finally fell asleep. His mind was too busy replying everything that had happened between them so far. Never had he ever though a woman like Rachel would come into his life. That he would deserve to be happy with a woman like her. It surprised him that she was happy with him.

Rachel could have any man in the wasteland and she wanted him. Obviously she was insane and he still didn't deserve it but here she was. Wrapped safe in her arms and sleeping peacefully. She really was an angel, his angel. He'd do his best to stay by her side for as long as she wanted him next too. For the first time in two hundred years he had a reason to stay alive.

* * *

Distant pounding made Charon grumble and shifted. He felt for his shotgun but instead of finding the familiar cold metal of his most loyal friend he found the warm flesh of a smoothskin. His eyes opened and he blinked into Rachel's hair.

Her back was pressed tightly against his chest and she was using his outstretched arm as a pillow. His other arm was draped over her waist and he smiled, running his scarred fingers over her skin again softly. The pounding sounded again and he growled, recognizing the sound as a fist pounding on their front door.

Rachel growled and shifted too, making Charon ease out of bed. He grabbed his discarded pants and yanked them on, intent on killing whoever it was before they woke her up. Charon pulled the thin blanket over her and eased the door closed. There was a dent from where he'd kicked it the night before.

Charon grabbed his shotgun from where he'd left it on the couch the night before and cocked it. He was a foot from the door when the knocking started again.

Angrily Charon yanked the door open and pointed his shotgun before he even saw who it was. "What?" he hissed.

"I-oh," Gob stuttered, eyes darting around nervously. Judging from the early morning light it was only maybe an hour past dawn. "Um… sorry. It's early. But…can I…um can I come in?"

Charon looked up to the closed bedroom door and growled. He'd deal with whatever Gob wanted and get him out before Rachel woke up. Maybe he could do some of the things he'd dreamt about to her be they started their day. "If you're quiet, she's still sleeping,"

Charon not so discreetly zipped his pants and gave Gob an appraising look. The smaller ghoul was twitchier then usual and the dark spots splattered on his shirt looked a hell of a lot like half dried blood.

"Holy shit," Charon cursed softly. "You actually killed that bastard,"

Gob's eyes went wide, "How…how do you know,"

Charon cocked an eyebrow, "You're out of the fucking saloon and you're covered in blood,"

"Oh… do you think Sheriff Simms will kill me?" he asked and Charon snorted.

"Not likely. Moriarty was an asshole and by the time Simms finds out Rachel will be up. She'd walk through fire before she let you get shot over that bastard," Charon told him, guiding Gob to the chair in the living room and making him sit down.

"What do I do?"

Charon scowled at Wadsworth and tapped his metal casing with his shotgun barrel. "Robot, wake up,"

Wadsworth came to life and greeted Charon cheerfully, "Good morning sir, what can I do for you?"

"Shh, Rachel is sleeping. Do you make coffee?" He asked, resigned to the fact that he wasn't going back to bed this morning after all.

"I believe I have a bit of coffee left somewhere," Wadsworth replied at a much lower volume.

"Good, make it," Charon took a seat on the couch and settled his shotgun in his lap. "Tell me what happened,"

Gob licked his lips nervously and twiddled his thumbs. "Well, after the bar closed and I cleaned up Moriarty had already passed out so I locket up and when to bed. I st-stashed the gun under my pillow, y-you know so I could give it back.

Well Moriarty woke up and decided I needed a beating for b-breaking that bottle last night and he came in. I was expecting it though so I heard him coming." Gob smoothed the few wisps of hair he had left back over his head nervously. "I heard some of what you were tellin' Rachel yesterday, about how I wasn't wearing a c-collar and could l-leave if I wanted too. I don't know. You were right and I started to think how great life would be if I did use that gun.

Well he came in and yelled and got in a few punches and…and I guess I just sorta snapped cause I grabbed that gun and I pointed and pulled the trigger. I don't even feel bad about it,"

Charon nodded, "You shouldn't. You were defending yourself. Don't go sit by the bomb until Simms see the damage he cause. Where's the body?"

"R-right where I left it I guess. Christ, Nova is still over there. What if she heard the shots? What if she finds Moriarty dead and me gone?"

Charon put up a hand before Gob worked himself into a panic attack. "Nova will be confused but fine. The gun isn't silenced, if Nova slept through that she's jetting,"

Wadsworth appeared balancing a tray with two steaming coffee mugs and a little bowl that had what looked like sugar. Charon had no idea where the robot had gotten sugar but it wasn't important right this second.

He took one mug and nodded for Gob to take the other. The little ghoul thanked the robot and sipped carefully. The warm porcelain in his hands seemed like it was calming him down like Charon had hoped it would. It had always worked with his sister and Gob was more than a little girly in Charon's opinion.

"_Charon…"_ Rachel's voice whined sleepily from upstairs. The ghouls stiffened, listening. "Charon I'm cold. Come back to bed…"

Startled Gob looked at the bedroom door. He noticed Charon's shirt crumpled on the stairs and what looked like a pair of black panties caught on the railing of the landing upstairs. His eyes traveled back to Charon's bare chest and Gob's mouth fell open. Charon gave an incredibly smug smile.

"Rachel put your pants on. We have a visitor,"

"Who is it?" she yelled back and they could hear her moving around behind the closed door.

"Come find out,"

Rachel appeared at the top of the stair in her torn up jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was sticking out at odd angles and she was barefoot. Charon thought she looked gorgeous and he had to resist the urge to kick Gob's ass for watching her too.

"Gobert!" her eyes lit up as her mouth fell open, "You killed that son of a bitch! Congratulations!"

Gob eyebrows flew up and he fidgeted with his coffee cup. Rachel pranced down the steps and threw her arms around his neck in a warm hug before she flopped onto the couch next the Charon. Charon scowled at the hug and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. For one ludicrous second Gob felt like he was being interviewed by the parents he'd never had.

"Good Morning Madam," Wadsworth hovered into the room with the tray and presented Rachel with a mug of coffee.

Rachel leaned up and looked at the black liquid. "What is it?"

"Coffee Madam, there is sugar in the bowl." The Mr. Handy explained cheerfully.

Rachel glanced at Charon and he nodded, taking a pointed sip from his own cup. She took it and added a couple spoons of the white sand Wadsworth had called sugar. Wadsworth went back to the kitchen and Rachel took a carful sip.

"This is good," She murmured and settled back her ghoul. Charon stretched out his legs and touched Rachel's knee with his but didn't make any other move to touch her.

There was a finger light tap on the door and Gob nearly jumped out of his skin. Charon got up with his gun in one hand and his coffee in the other, grumbling something about it being too early for this. He opened the door and lifted is shotgun in a smooth motion. Rachel new if she'd tried to open the door like that she'd probably have dropped it. Charon's hands where bigger though and he and his shotgun had been together a long time.

Nova stood in the doorway with her hands up, palms facing Charon to show she was unarmed. The ghoul dropped his aim and stepped aside to let her in without a word. The whore took in Charon's bare chest and Rachel's sleepy face.

"It's about time, I hope you two had a good night," she commented even as her eyes slid to Gob.

Rachel nodded, a blush coloring her cheeks as a smile crept over her lips, "I did. Better than most nights,"

"I woke up late this morning," Nova's voice was incredulous, like she wasn't sure if she was awake or not. She crossed and room and slid her arms around Gobs neck, hugging him tightly without missing a word. "And I ran down stairs before Colin found out. You weren't up either though so I went to wake you up too, it was too early for Colin to be pissed off…there was so much blood in your room... and his body but you weren't there. I thought he killed you,"

"He tried," Gob assured her, awkwardly patting her back. Twice this morning he'd been hugged warmly by pretty smoothskins. It was like a scenery overload. Novaed let go of him and Gobbed pressed his mostly full coffee cup into her hands. "I killed him first though,"

"You?" Nova's voice was amazed, "And after finding Colin I thought I wouldn't be surprised again. I was wrong,"

Gob shifted uncomfortably, "It was self-defense. Really it was…"

"Gobert," Rachel chuckled, "you have nothing to worry about. He came at you and you shot him. It happens. Everyone knows he was a violent man and he pissed in his still. That's why we only ever drank the bottled beer and whisky,"

"I would have never severed you that, I made sure you only ever got the good stuff."

"That a'boy," Rachel looked up at Charon. "Now what?"

Charon sighed; this was not how he had envisioned this morning. What to do shouldn't be their responsibility and yet somehow it was. Because Rachel had provided the means? Maybe, but Nova had come to their house too though so maybe it was Rachel herself. A hero in the wasteland even though her deeds went as great as the one's Three-dog still prattle on about. The one's done by the kid that came out of vault 101.

"Someone needs to go get Simms. It will be better if he hears it from us rather than finding out through town gossip. Gob…" one look at the smaller ghoul told him he wasn't going to be very effective talking to the Sheriff alone. "Stay here with the girls. I'll go get Simms,"

Charon went up to the bedroom, snatching Rachel's panties off the railing on the way by and cursed at the mess they'd made of the bedroom. There was shit everywhere. It seemed that in the need to get his smoothskin into bed he'd managed to knock a lot of stuff from shelves to the floor.

"Rachel where is your gun?" he yelled, tossing her panties on the floor with everything else.

She had to think for a second, "I think it's in the kitchen,"

Charon came back down, pulling a shirt over his head. "Get it and keep it close. I don't want your ass disappearing in the ten minutes I'll be gone,"

Charon voice was all business as he strapped his armor into place but Rachel scoffed anyway. "Asshole, Stay out of trouble,"

Charon shook his head, pulling open the front door. "You need to worry about that more than I do," and he was gone.

The other two people in the room turned to stare at her. "What?"

"I've never seen Charon in a good mood before. What did you do to him?" Gob asked like he hadn't already picked up on the obvious.

Nova grinned as she settled on the couch next to Rachel. The whore ran a finger over a particularly dark bite mark on the girl collarbone and laughed, "Gobbie I think it's more of a question of what _he_ did to _her_,"

"So you guys really…I mean…you know,"

Rachel sipped her coffee and smiled, "Well you guys won't see me in a good mood this early in the morning for much of anything else,"

* * *

Simms wasn't exactly pleased but throughout his talk with Gob and Nova he didn't seem that distraught either. It wasn't like Moriarty was a pillar of the community. After going over what happened he sighed and muttered something about it being too early for all this shit.

"It sounds like self-defense, I suppose if anyone wants to argue against you I might have to investigate but I don't see the point. There weren't any witnesses and judging from your face you took a beating first just like you said. I'd say you're in the clear,"

"What's gonna happened to the Saloon?" Nova asked as Simms was getting ready to leave.

"Well…" he started, thinking, "As far as I know Colin didn't have any next of kin or a will. Way I figure it you two are the only ones that know how to run the damn place anyway. So long as you want it I'd say it's yours,"

Sheriff Simms left without another word and Nova eyed Gob for a long time. "Did he say _Ours_?"

Gob nodded, speechless.

Rachel clapped her hands together, "Gobert your mother is gonna be so proud of you!"

Gob paled, "Rachel please don't tell Carol I killed someone, I never told her I was as good as a slave. I don't want her to know that,"

Nova cleared her throat, "You could write to her Gob, Tell her…tell her your boss passed away and the saloon was passed over by you. That is the truth, just without the messy details,"

"Speaking of messy details your saloon really needs some attention there. Colin's going to stain the floor if you leave him too much longer," Rachel pointed out and they all nodded in agreement.

Gob looked around the room and at the door, not sure how to proceed. Charon grumbled and pushed him towards the door. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do before you can open for business,"

* * *

**There it is, first explicit sexy time ever. Tell me know if it was horrible and if anyone out there who enjoys On Broken Roads would maybe be interested n helping me edit it that would be great. I'm not sure how the Beta thing works but I'd like another fallout junkie like myself. =)**


	34. Chapter 34

**Thank You all so much for the support and the reviews! I love them all even if I don't reply to all of them! **

**Fandelivers, I love you! Get an Account so I can talk to you at length about how much I love you. Haha!**

**Chapter 34**

Rachel looked around Gob's Saloon and grinned at the crowd. The place was busier now than it had ever been under Moriarty's management. Gob had kept it closed for two days while they'd cleaned. Eight mouths had been nothing but good for the business. Gob and Nova were famously successful with Gob taking care of the booze and food while Nova handled the rooms.

Nova had quit whoring too. Now the man that got the pleasure of her company was the one she wanted. Jericho had asked her to move in with him not long after they'd started see each other and the extra vacant room at the Saloon had gone a long way towards profits.

Gob spotted his favorite smoothskin and waved, shooing a drunken traveler off of her stool. Rachel grinned and sat as he set a cold tumbler whiskey down in front of her.

"You're back! How was the Republic of Dave?"

Rachel grimaced, "Weird. Dave tried to take me as his third wife. Charon knocked his ass out before I got in one half way decent punch myself. We've been banished for life,"

Gob laughed, wiping out a glass. He'd heard of the Republic before and everyone agreed that their leader was insane. Dave didn't have enough people under his command to be any threat though and the thought of anyone trying to claim Charon's woman was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"So where is your boyfriend?" Nova asked, coming up behind her and giving the shorter red head a hug.

"Whoa now. Hey!" Rachel protested, cursing the blush that colored her cheeks. "Me and Charon are just friends,"

"That fuck like molerats, and make goo goo eyes at each other all damned day," Gob grinned, handing a beer to someone sitting next to her. "You too are so in love it's ridiculous,"

"Okay buddy," Rachel pointed a finger at the bartender, "I have never made fuckin' goo goo eyes at anybody in my life,"

"Ah huh," Gob didn't sound convinced, "I bet you two cuddle. Have feelings and shit. Smile at each other for no reason,"

Rachel gasped and tried her best to look insulted, "We have done no such thing. To think, feeling…what's wrong with you!"

Gob sniggered and leaned on the counter. "He's not here right now…" The ghoul grinned at her, "Do you miss him?"

"No!" Rachel snapped a little too quickly, the heat on her cheeks spreading over her face. She could feel Nova laughing against her back, "I've been right next to him for days. It wouldn't make sense for me to miss him already,"

"It wouldn't." Gob agreed, still grinning like an asshole, "But you do. Face it kid, you guys are in love,"

"Someone's getting awfully brazen in their freedom," Rachel glared. Maybe she did love Charon. Maybe not. She didn't know. Charon had never said it to her and she'd never said it to anyone at all. Besides she'd be damned if she compromised the good thing they had going by complicating the situation with feelings. They were partners, Friends and lovers when the mood struck. Okay so the mood struck all the fuckin' time but still.

"Maybe someone should remind you of your place," a gravelly voice growled behind her and Nova's petite form at her back was replaced by Charon's hard muscle. Charon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"That wouldn't change a thing," Gob said, having to rise is voice over the chatter of people.

"I could anyways beat the manners back into you," Charon threatened with a grin.

He flipped Charon off with on hand tossed him a beer with the other. He caught his beverage of choice and twisted off the cap, chucked it at Gob who ducked, laughing.

Life was good like that, Rachel, Charon, Gob, Nova and Jericho. They were like a mismatched little family.

Charon whispered in her ear the amount of caps he'd gotten from their newest haul of salvage and she smiled.

"Good," she whispered back, "I owe Crow for the new additions to Claws' armor." Charon nodded, taking the seat next to her as soon as the other man had left. He touched her knee with his and Rachel smiled. Gob set two bowls of noodle in front of them without them having to order and they dug in. They'd traveled all night and day to get home and were both starving.

Jericho settled into the stool on Rachel's left and grinned, "Hey beautiful. Welcome back to our little scrap heap,"

Rachel smiled sweetly and sighed. "Thanks. There's no place like home,"

She'd only been referring to Megaton as home for a couple months but it sounded right in Charon's ears. This was their home, most of the people they cared about lived here and the others lived in Underworld.

Three Dog came on the radio and spouted a rerun report about how "_Angel_" had rescued some people from Slavers on their way to Paradise Falls, and then another about the time they'd helped fight off Raiders that had attacked Big Town while they'd been there.

It hadn't been like they'd appeared in the nick of time. They had stopped in town to resupply and Raiders had attacked. Rachel didn't react well to being shot at and shot them back. It had been as simple as that.

"He's going to have a field day when he finds out we burned Paradise Falls to the ground," Rachel whispered to Charon and the big ghoul nodded.

Over the last eight months she'd launched an anti-slavery campaign that had made her a hero to slaves and a walking nightmare to Slavers. Eulogy Jones had begged her on his knees for his life and she'd shot him with the coldest eyes Charon had ever seen. He'd never been more attracted to her.

The caps they'd gotten today were from all the salvage they'd gotten from the Slaver town yesterday morning. Six thousand caps worth of salvage. Rachel grinned at Charon as she pushed her empty bowl away.

"It's good to be home,"

"Yeah, how long do you wanna stay this time?"

"I don't know. We aren't exactly hard up for caps anymore. We could actually take it easy for a while,"

"We could," Charon agreed, "But I am not sure you could stand doing nothing for more than a couple days,"

"Fuck off Asshole," she grinned.

Jericho leaned back and reached around Rachel, smacking Charon on the arm. "Hey, we playin' cards tonight?"

Charon glanced at Rachel who shrugged, silently telling him she didn't have anything planned for them. Charon nodded, "Yeah,"

Rachel grinned, looks like she was hanging out with Nova tonight. They could play if they wanted too but it was more or less a boy's night. Charon, Jericho, Gob, and Simms got together a couple nights a week to play poker. Sometimes Billy, Creel, and Doc. Church would join the game too.

They stayed until closing and then Nova and Rachel left together while the men stayed. Nova and Rachel linked arms like a couple of kids and skipped all the way to her house. Wadsworth greeted them cheerfully and told them a joke about electrons in a bar.

"So what do we want to do tonight, hun?" Nova asked, hands on her hips.

"We could go play with the men but that's only fun until they start bitching about us kickin' their asses,"

Nova nodded, flopping onto the couch. "So what is the deal with you and Charon? You both are purposely avoiding the fact that you're in a relationship. Do you not want to commit to him? I can't see you holding the fact that he's a ghoul in the way but I can't think of anything else either."

Rachel shook her head, "No, it's nothing like that. We just have a good thing going between us. We are just friends who sometimes sleep together. Simple as that,"

"So if you did meet a nice guy you could sleep with him?" Nova asked,

"Yes," Rachel confirmed.

"And if Charon found somebody he wanted you'd be okay with that?" Nova pressed with raised eyebrows.

It was a trick. Rachel knew it was a trick but the thought of Charon wanting anyone other than her made her hackles rise just a little bit. Rachel beat down the feeling and nodded, keeping her face passive, "Of course,"

Nova laughed, "You are so full of shit,"

Rachel laughed and ignored the comment.

"Do you love him?"

"I don't like that word," Rachel confessed. "It makes me uncomfortable,"

"Really? I thought I had issues,"

"I know right," Rachel grinned. And they moved on to new topics. Mostly Nova caught her up on the gossip around town and when they ran out of gossip Rachel stood, empty whisky bottle in her hand.

Nova set her own bottle on the floor and stood too. "I feel like getting into trouble,"

"Me too," Rachel grinned, "Charon doesn't like it when I go outside at night without him, _sooo_…you wanna go play with Claws!"

"Yes!" Nova grinned, clapping her hands.

Rachel grabbed her rifle and pointed at the fridge. "Get the SMG on top and grab more whiskey!"

Nova giggled and grabbed what she been told to. The girls were out the door without a second thought. Stockholm wasn't happy about them waking him up to go play but he opened the gates anyway. Rachel and Nova slipped threw the doors as soon as they were opened enough and ran around the short distance around the outer wall too Claw's pen. The walls now stood six and a half feet tall and the deathclaw could already see over the top of it.

Rachel unbolted the door but he wasn't there. She frowned and turned, scanning the dark horizon. The moon was full so she could see pretty far but Claws was nowhere in sight.

"Charon must have let him go hunt," Rachel pouted,

"I thought Simms wanted him locked up when you weren't with him?"

Rachel flapped her hand dismissively, "Simms wants lots of things. Claws needs a lot of food and I'm not going to drag whole molerat colonies back here for him. He'll get lazy and fat,"

"Nobody likes a lazy, fat Deathclaw," Nova agreed, tossing Rachel a whiskey bottle before opening her own.

Rachel giggled and took a swig from her bottle. "Fuck. I was gonna ride him too."

Nova looked at her with wide eyes, "Have you done that before? It sounds …_fun_."

"It does!" Rachel insisted. The whiskey was defiantly doing its job. "I haven't done it yet, but I bet he'd let me, I'ma call him!" Rachel put her thumb and forefinger to her lips and whistled sharply.

Nova clapped her hands, grinning. "Can I ride Claws too? I bet he can run really fast!"

"Yes!" Rachel shouted, throwing her arms in the air, "We'll ride him together! It'll be so fun!"

Claw scampered around the curved edge of town and skidded to a halt in front of his mistress, licking the whole left side of her face with a rough bloody tongue. Rachel laughed and wiped bloody saliva off her face with her arm. She wasn't wearing her armor, only jean and a black tank top so she failed getting most of the blood steaks off her skin.

Claws sniffed Nova's hair and nuzzled her in an affectionate greeting. The force knocked her on her ass and she giggled, getting back up to her feet.

"Okay," Rachel said, snapping her fingers to get her pet's attention. His head was massive as is swiveled towards her, he could bite her in two if he wanted too but she trusted him implicitly. "We are gonna do something new okay?" she cooed.

She pointed at Claws, "Mama wants to go for a ride." She told him, her words a little slurred. "Don't tell Daddy,"

Nova laughed loudly, "You call Charon Daddy?"

Rachel giggled, "Yeah, when I'm talkin' to my beautiful boy here," she scratched Claws' chin. The big deathclaw made a purring sound deep in his throat and licked her again. Rachel pointed at the ground.

"Down." Obediently Claws crouched until he could lay his head flush with the ground. Rachel looked over his back and decided on his shoulders. "I think we can both fit up here,"

Rachel gulped a mouthful of whiskey and slid the bottle into her pocket. She carefully swung her leg over his neck and settled with her ass against his highest back spike. It took a little adjusting to sit comfortably but Claws held still until she was settled with her legs hooked over his shoulders.

Rachel grinned and looked at Nova, "Come on,"

Nova was grinning as she followed suit, settling behind Rachel and wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist. Rachel held the curve of Claws' horns and clucked her tongue. "Up Claws,"

The deathclaw twisted his head to look at her and she laughed. "Up Claws. You such a Good boy and Mama loves you. Now let's take a walk!"

Claw recognized the commands and rose up to his full height. Rachel giggled wildly as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. they were easily eight feet off the ground. Rachel pointed out over the wasteland and swung her legs yelling. "Giddy up Claws! Mush!"

Claw shook himself, like he was trying to buy time before the inevitable and then startled walking. He crossed the path to the front gate and the girls waved as Stockholm spit his mouth full of beer out.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" he yelled, nearly falling out of his chair.

"Shhh!" Rachel hissed loudly. She was drunk and she didn't care, "Stockholm!" she whispered as loud as she could. He cocked an eyebrow and she assumed he could hear her. "We are going for a ride. Real quick," she and Nova both giggled, "Claws is okay with it! Charon can't know!"

"What?" Stockholm yelled, panic on his face. Charon was going to blame him for letting them out. If he'd known they were up to something this crazy he never would have opened the gate.

"Mush!" Rachel pitched forward, point away from Megaton. Claw snorted and took off running. Nova's arms tightened around Rachel's waist and shrieked excitedly. Rachel hauled herself up higher, using Claws' horns as handles and howled at the moon as they spread across the wasteland. The wind whipped through her hair and her heart pounded against her ribs. She loved it.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000

Charon swigged his beer and slapped his cards down, "Royal Flush assholes!" he gloated, as the men swore. Charon pulled the caps onto his side of the table and grinned, a cigarette trapped in his teeth. Luck was defiantly on his side tonight. He had yet to make a bad bet and he was up two hundred caps.

The door to the Saloon opened and they all looked up as Stockholm crossed the threshold.

"We're closed," Gob told him apologetically, shuffling the cards.

Stockholm met Charon's eyes and paled. Charon automatically stiffened. "What?" He demanded when the dark skinned man just stood there staring.

The gate keeper flinched, "I'm real sorry Charon. I didn't know they'd been drinkin' enough to be so crazy. I wouldn't a' opened the gate if I'd known they'd been drinkin' like that!"

Charon and Jericho were both on their feet by the time he'd finished. There were only two people that could get into enough trouble while drinkin' that Stockholm would have to have to get them.

"What did they do!?" Jericho demanded.

Stockholm gulped and took a defensive step back, "They took off on the deathclaw. Said you couldn't know so I figured I should come get you,"

Charon blinked, He couldn't have heard the man correctly. "They took off _on_ the deathclaw?"

Stockholm gulped again and nodded. "Yeah, they were both on its back,"

"Gods all damned, Jesus christ, mother fuckin crazy ass woman!" Charon roared, pulling his shotgun from his back and running out of the saloon. Jericho was right behind him and swearing just was fiercely.

Stockholm ran full speed back to his post and hit the button that would open the gates. The men were out of the settlement in seconds. Charon's chest twisted painfully when there was no sign of either the girls or the animal. Swearing again he whistled loudly, grinding his teeth together in an effort to calm himself while he listened for movement.

"Will Claws come to you if he's with Rachel?" Jericho asked, scowling at the moonlit dessert.

"I don't know," Charon growled, trying to think of ways he could physically punish Rachel that she wouldn't actually like.

"There," Jericho pointed at a dot of movement on the horizon. Charon recognized the shape as Claws almost instantly and he whistled again. The deathclaws' head snapped in his direction and Charon glared as laughter echoed into his ears.

They waited. Jericho smoking a cigarette at a furious pace and Charon with his arm crossed. Claws disappeared in a dip of land and seconds later he reappeared in the curve of the road in front of the main gates.

Rachel was grinning like a crazy person over the top of Claw's head. She locked eyes with Charon and she pull roughly on Claws horns. He came up short, shaking his head to dislodge his mama's hands.

"Oh fuck," they heard her whisper, ducking down behind Claws' head.

Nova's head peaked out from the side of Claws' face and snapped back, "Do you think they saw us?"

"_Yes_." Charon growled dryly, taking a few steps towards them. "We saw you. Rachel…will you come here please?"

"I would rather not," she called, but her feet shifted and First Nova and then Rachel climb down. Rachel's booted heel caught Claw's elbow and she fell backwards. Charon caught her before she touched the ground and he held her firmly against him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded working to keep the anger out of his voice. They never fought in front of Claws. He was protective and they didn't want to confuse him on who he was supposed to eat.

Charon glanced over, Jericho had a possessive arm around Nova and they were headed back into Megaton. Nova was talking to him quickly and quietly while the old Raider shook his head.

Charon opened the gate to Claws' pen and after the beast was inside he scooped up Rachel, carrying her.

Wadsworth greeted them at the door like always and then went about his business. Charon looked at her in the light of the living room and swore.

"What?" She asked, looking up at him,

"You're covered in blood! Rachel where are you hurt?"

Rachel looked down and blinked. "Oh! Claws gave me kisses but he just ate. I'm A-okay,"

"Good," Charon growled, dumping her on the couch, "Now what in the flying fucking hell were you doing?! He could have killed you by accident! You and Nova both!"

Rachel flinched but glared, standing up to her full height, "But we didn't! Claws was fine and it was so much fun! You gotta try it!"

"No! And you're not doing it again. He is big and fast. What do you think will happen if he falls? You'll be crushed, or if her catches you with his claw's you'll be gutted!"

"You can't tell me I can't ride my own damn deathclaw!" She yelled, in the back of her mind she knew that that wasn't a great argument but she had been having fun and he'd popped her drunken goodtime bubble.

"The hell I can't! It's for your own good!" he snarled,

"Fuck off Asshole! I'll do what I want, when I want! Rules of the Capitol Wasteland! I could ride Claws all the way to the Mojave. We got the caps to get onto the Strip! I'll sit on my fuckin' deathclaw and play Blackjack in the middle of The Tops!"

They stared each other down for a few long seconds and finally Charon snorted. The absurdity of what she'd said defusing him. "_What_?"

Rachel chuckled, "Yeah, I probably couldn't get him all the way into the Strip but I could get pretty close,"

"I can't believe you snuck out and rode a deathclaw, you do know how lucky you are? Right smoothskin?" He asked, guiding her upstairs.

Rachel nodded and smiled up at him. "I do. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to take my pants off."

"Well," Charon grinned, "Don't let me stand in your way,"


End file.
